Paradox of Love
by Emi-Lynn
Summary: When Tony returns from his time as an Agent Afloat he hopes to just step back into his relationship with McGee. Since when are things that simple? Written for TaylorGibbs. M/M, M/M/M.
1. Chapter 1

a/n - I wasn't going to post this at first because when I started this story, there was quite a purge going on here. Things have calmed down around here, so here it is. I'm currently working on chapter 15 of 17, so it's almost done. Since we can't update any current stories today, I thought I'd give you guys the first chapter of this one instead. Whenever I can get into the "manage stories" you'll get a chapter of Laboring. I actually have two chapters of Laboring ready to publish and five of the next seven roughed out.

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Paradox of Love

_I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love._

_Mother Teresa_

"Welcome back to DC, DiNozzo. Take a long weekend to get settled in, all of you, and you'll be on the rotation starting Monday. Gibbs, a word please." Director Vance didn't look back and he climbed the stairs.

Gibbs turned to the rest of them. "Get out of here, you three. Enjoy your three day weekend." Ziva scurried down to Abby's lab, eager for the promised girls' weekend to start, leaving Tony and Tim alone.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride." Tim picked up his backpack and headed for the elevator. Tony was just a few steps behind him and caught up just as the elevator doors opened. As the metal box started to move, Tony's hand crept down Tim's arm to grasp at his hand. He squeezed Tim's hand once before throwing the emergency switch and pulling Tim close.

"God, I never thought I'd get to do this again."

Tim could feel Tony shaking against him and wrapped his arms around the older man. "It's okay, Tony. You heard the Director, it's wasn't a punishment."

"Sure felt like one." He nuzzled the side of Tim's neck. "I missed you so much, babe. Gonna make it so good tonight, gonna finally be buried in that sweet ass of yours. I've waited so long to be your first."

When Tim stiffened in his arms, alarm bells started doing off in DiNozzo's head. "Timmy?"

Shaking his head, McGee worried his lower lip with his teeth. "Let's just go back to my place and talk first, okay?" McGee pulled away and turned the elevator back on, not looking Tony in the eye, but he flinched when Tony ran his hand across his backside.

Tony wasn't willing to let it go. "Who was it? After all the months you made me wait, who'd you let fuck your ass, McGee?"

"Tony, don't."

Tim was the one that reached out this time, but Tony shoved him away. "You pompous, self-righteous bastard. Did you even wait until we were clear of the dock?" The elevator delivered them to the garage level and he stormed out, ignoring Tim's pleas to listen. A blonde from the accounting department was just getting ready to pull out and he grabbed a ride with her, leaving Tim standing in the parking lot.

"Damn it, Tony, it wasn't what you thought."

-NCIS-

He'd given up drinking months ago, realizing that nothing would permanently block the memories of the night that continued to haunt him, but tonight Tim was sorely tempted to get plastered, to have one night when he didn't remember. It was only the fear of what he would do if he was drunk that kept him drinking coffee as he sat alone in his apartment. It was well after midnight when Marty called from the Watering Hole, the gay friendly bar he and Tony had discovered soon after their first fumbling night after a bad case. Tim slipped his shoes back on and was out the door before he thought about what Tony was doing there by himself.

Since it was a Thursday night, the bar was relatively quiet when McGee arrived. He spotted Tony, face down at the bar with Marty keeping watch. "Hey, Marty, thanks for the call."

"No problem, take him home and sort it out, whatever it is, alright?"

That was easier said than done, but Tim just concentrated on getting Tony upright and out to the car. He was panting heavily by the time he got Tony in the passenger seat of the Porsche. Tony opened a bleary eye and glared at him. "What are you doing, McGee?"

"Getting you out of there before you do something stupid." Tim bent down and lifted Tony's feet, swinging his legs into the car.

Tony wasn't sure which of the three McGee's he saw was actually the real one, so he just pointed in the general direction. "Wasn't going to do anything stupid, you've already done it." He looked around as the car started to move. "Where... where are we going?"

"I'm taking you back to my place to sober up, unless you want the Director to find out that you got smashed your first day back." When Tony didn't answer, Tim gave him a careful look. "You're not going to puke in my car, are you?"

"DiNozzo's are never so drunk that we puke, McGeek. Have to uphold the family honor."

The green tint to his skin wasn't very convincing. "Fine, just keep telling yourself that until we get to the apartment."

It wasn't a surprise that he barely got Tony upstairs and in the bathroom of his apartment before the DiNozzo family honor was sacrificed to the porcelain gods. When it was finally over, he helped Tony lean back against the wall and gently washed his face. Red rimmed eyes stared at him. "I think I hate you, McGee."

Tim tossed the washcloth into the sink and sat across from Tony, pulling his knees up under his chin. "Sometimes, I hate me, too."

"Just tell me why. Why him and not me. What was it that made you do it?"

He scrubbed at his face, refusing to let Tony see him cry. "I'm not sure I had a choice."

"What? What do you mean, you're not sure?" Some things can instantly sober up a man; that would be one of them. "Tim, tell me what happened. Who hurt you?"

McGee shook his head as he levered himself off the floor. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"The hell it doesn't." Tony staggered, but managed to get to his feet and followed Tim back into the bedroom. "Damn it, Tim, talk to me. What happened?"

Tim didn't stop in the bedroom, but continued on into the main room, leaning against the kitchen counter. Tony stood in back of him, a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Tim, if something happened that you didn't consent to, then you were raped. Did you report it?"

"God, no." Tim let his head drop further, curling inward as he tried to shut it all out, knowing that Tony would hate him even more if he knew what happened. "He was sick and I didn't fight him. He doesn't remember it anyways. It's over, Tony, let it go."

Tony shook his head. "I can't. Whoever this bastard is, he hurt you and I can't just let it go. Just tell me who it was." When Tim didn't answer, Tony started going through possible suspects in his mind. He knew that Tim had been stuck in cybercrimes, but he couldn't imagine anyone there who had the control over McGee to convince the man not to fight back. "If you don't tell me, I'll go to Vance."

"Please, no, you can't do that." Tim turned and grabbed Tony's shirt. "Please, Tony."

It was killing Tony to be the bad guy, but he was convinced it was the only way. "It'll be okay, Tim, I promise. Just tell me and I'll take care of it." He wrapped his arms around Tim and trailed kisses across his face. "I'll take care of you, I promise. Nobody is going to hurt you again."

Tim couldn't hold the tears back any longer. "You'll hate me."

"No, babe, I could never hate you. Come on, tell me and I'll keep you safe." When he finally felt a trembling nod against his chest, Tony walked Tim back to the bedroom and sat him down on the bed before kneeling down in front of him. "It's going to be all right, I promise. Just start at the beginning and tell me what happened."


	2. Chapter 2

a/n - site's still wonky, but here's a new chapter. Also a new chapter of Laboring is up, but you'll have to dig for it, I guess. It didn't move up on the list yet.

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Tim sat and stared at his hands before he started talking in a low, monotone voice that worried Tony even more. "I almost wish I'd been sent out as an Agent Afloat, too."

"Hey, you get seasick just looking at a picture of a ship." His teasing almost got a smile out of the other man.

"Yeah." Tim finally looked up at Tony. "None of us did anything wrong, none of us."

Tony rested his hands on Tim's knees for balance as he settled in to listen. He'd had the benefit of being surrounded by strangers during his months at sea. He never thought about what it would be like to still be at Headquarters day after day, but stuck in the sub-basement surrounded by people who knew you had once been part of the agency's top team. "It sure felt like punishment, right? You were the only one who had to face people who believed it, too."

"'How the mighty have fallen', God, if I heard someone say it once, I heard it a thousand times. Even when I started working on the encryption for Vance, it was a secret. The guys down in the sub-basement weren't so bad after awhile, but upstairs..."

Tony waited, hoping for names.

"After a couple of months of 'hey, that's McGee. He used to be an agent, now he's just a computer geek' when he asked me to go out in the field with him..."

"You jumped at the chance, right?" Tony rubbed his knees slightly. "It's okay, I would have. What happened when you went?" Tim stared over Tony's shoulder at the wall as all the memories of that day came back.

_Flashback_

_It was late when McGee finally left NCIS that night. "Hey, McGee." _

_Tim turned at the sound of Gibbs' low voice in the parking lot and squinted in the dark. "Boss, is that you?" He waited until Gibbs came over to lean against his car. "What's going on?"_

_"Now that Vance has finally let me into the loop, I need to do some checking on my team." Gibbs looked tired but under the circumstances he wasn't surprised. It wasn't every day you discovered one of your agents was a mole._

_"You and Vance already have me running financials on the three of them."_

_"More than that." Gibbs pinched at the bridge of his nose. "One of them turned against this country, McGee. I need to know why."_

_McGee could understand the feeling. "Okay, how can I help?"_

_"Keating spent several months doing upgrades on the computer facility out near Rayville."_

_That made McGee frown. "Months? I was the one to do it the year before and it only took me three weekends."_

_"I remember." Gibbs leaned against the side of McGee's car. "That's why I want to know if he was doing anything else while he was there. I'll pick you up in the morning." He didn't wait for McGee to answer before he walked away._

_The secure, hidden facility was less than two hours away from DC, but few knew if its existence. Small and nondescript, the building looked like a small fishing cabin, common near the reservoir. Only if you knew which closet door to open would you find the high tech security door, behind which was the_ _network that would replace the system at Headquarters should the unforeseen happen. The elevator down was cramped for more than one person, but it was sufficient. _

_Gibbs parked his truck in the oversized carport just before daybreak, making sure to keep it centered so that no satellite could pick up the image. A thermal blanket thrown over the engine compartment completed the job. The rain was starting to come down hard and the two men made a run for the main building, fishing gear in hand. _

_Once inside, Gibbs left the poles near the front door, along with their coats, while McGee carried the tackle boxes to the closet. The eye scan allowed them access and they continued down two levels to a cluster of monitors and rows upon rows of large computer towers. No sensitive information filled the hard drives, but they stood in wait, in case a disaster hit the Navy Yard._

_McGee opened the two tackle boxes and unloaded all the equipment he would need to search the network, looking for the slightest clue of impropriety. Once set up, his first order of business was to let the Director know they were in place and ready to begin. That way they wouldn't set off a security sweep. Once he started working, McGee was intently studying the numbers and code that scrolled past on the largest of the monitors. He barely noticed when food was set in front of him or when Gibbs replaced his coffee. _

_Gibbs made a thorough sweep of the rooms as he watched McGee work. Nothing was out of place and he was bored, so he decided to check outside. Tim raised a hand in acknowledgment as he left before becoming submersed in the world of code again._

_Eventually Tim had to stop and stretch his back. The coffee Gibbs had given him was cold and he realized how much time had passed. Becoming concerned, he returned upstairs to look for Gibbs. When he wasn't in any of the upstairs rooms, Tim tried his cell. Unanswered, the call went to voicemail. His concern increasing, Tim snagged his coat as he went out the door, dialing again._

_The sun was setting and the intensity of the storm had increased ten-fold while McGee had been working. The small creek they had crossed on their way in was now a fast moving river, impossible to cross. Over the wind he strained to hear Gibbs' phone, hoping to use it to locate the other man. Finally he heard it coming from under a downed tree._

_"Boss? Crap, Boss, can you hear me?" Luckily the trunk hadn't hit Gibbs, but he was pinned under the foliage laden branches. The older man was only semi-conscious, but Tim wasn't sure if it was from an injury or from exposure. Eventually, he got him free and instinctively Gibbs staggered to his feet, leaning heavily on McGee. A lightening strike less than fifty feet from them told McGee he needed to get them to shelter quickly._

_They were cut off from the road, so McGee didn't even try to get Gibbs to the truck, instead he dragged Gibbs back to the cabin and down to the lower levels. Through the wet clothes he could feel that Gibbs' body temperature was too low. He eased him down into a chair and wrapped a blanket around him before putting in an emergency call to the Director._

_"Did you find something, Agent McGee?"_

_McGee quickly filled the Director and Ducky in on what had happened to Gibbs. "The storm's getting pretty bad, can you get us out of here on a chopper?" It only took a few minutes for Vance to return._

_"It's too dangerous. Winds are too high, everything's grounded until the storm clears. The site is right in the middle of the storm cell. You're looking at morning before we can get to you, so you're going to have to wait it out."_

_Ducky leaned over Vance's shoulder with a concerned look on his face. "I will be staying here at Headquarters, if anything changes in Jethro's condition, I want you to notify me immediately. For now, get him warmed up and do what you can for him."_

_"Understood, we'll be ready at first light." The power went out, leaving them in total darkness before the emergency generator kicked on. In the gloom of the emergency lighting, Tim pulled Gibbs back to his feet and they stumbled into the overnight room. The older man was heavy and disorientated, but Tim got him stripped down, dried off and into one of the cots. He piled every blanket in the place on Gibbs but he was still shivering._

_"Boss, can you hear me?" Tim slid a hand under the blankets and performed a hard sternum rub, feeling the icy skin under his hand. Having no other source of heat, Tim pulled his clothes off and slid under the blankets to spoon up against Gibbs. His socks and boxers were no protection and the icy skin almost took his breath away. "I'll have you warmed up soon, Boss."_

_After almost an hour Gibbs' shaking had been replaced with a fever and he relaxed back against Tim, pulling Tim's arm close against him. "Shannon."_

_Tim froze, unsure of how to get out of the situation without causing embarrassment to either of them. Before he came up with a solution, Gibbs shifted again and Tim found himself draped across Gibbs' chest, two powerful hands sliding into his boxers to cup his ass cheeks. Even with the thin fabric barrier, he felt naked and exposed with his legs spread out on each side of Gibbs' legs, the other man's hard cock already drooling against his stomach and a finger exploring between his cheeks._

_He was sure that even in Gibbs' delirious state, when his roaming fingers discovered the back side of Tim's balls it would stop him. Instead, his dreams seemed to change and he gave a throaty laugh before biting down on Tim's neck. "Waited so long."_

_As soon as his neck was released, Tim tried to scramble off Gibbs. He almost made it before his boxers were ripped apart and he found himself underneath the other man. "Boss?"_

_"No more teasing."_

_Gibbs' hoarse words stopped him. It had been their mutual, unrequited desire for Gibbs that had first brought he and Tony together. Had Gibbs been aware of his unspoken desires before he'd fallen in love with DiNozzo? He heard Gibbs spit into his hand and then felt a wet finger breach his opening. Knowing it would be worse if he fought it, and unwilling to hurt the other man, Tim forced himself to relax as one finger was replaced with two before he felt the blunt tip of Gibbs' cock pushing into him after not nearly enough preparation._

_Tim bit down on the pillow to prevent himself from crying out. The fucking was hard, if it had been a stranger on top of him he would have called it brutal, but it was mercifully short as the delirious man quickly climaxed. Gibbs fell limply across his back as he slipped out of Tim's body. Still not aware of his actions, or the damage he'd caused, he nuzzled Tim's ear as he ground against his hips. "Mine now,_ _Tony, you're mine."_

_Numb with the knowledge that he'd given himself to the man that would take his lover from him, Tim slid out from under Gibbs and slipped into the bathroom to wash away the evidence and the blood. Gibbs' fever broke just before dawn and by the time the medical helicopter arrived he was clean, redressed in slightly damp clothes and wrapped in a clean blanket. Tim watched as Ducky supervised the transfer of the semi-conscious man before telling the medical examiner that he would stay behind to finish the work and then bring the truck back when the road became passable. It wasn't until after the chopper cleared the horizon that Tim dropped to his knees and let the tears fall._

-NCIS-

Tony's head was spinning as Tim stopped talking. "My God, Tim, how badly did he hurt you?"

"I'm all right." Tim wouldn't look him in the eye.

"That doesn't answer my question." Tony still had his hands on Tim's knees and he gently rubbed them as he waited.

"I went to a clinic in Baltimore where they wouldn't ask too many questions. They put in a few stitches. I would have been all right without them, but I needed to make sure the scarring wouldn't be bad enough to get noticed on my next physical. I burned all the evidence."

Tony felt his heart break with each monotone word. "Tim..."

Tim shook his head, still staring at the floor. "No, you've been in love with Gibbs for longer than you've even known me. You settled when we got together."

"Tim..."

This time Tim did look up at him and silenced Tony with a finger to his lips. "We both know that you settled for second best, that your heart has always belonged to Gibbs. And now we know that deep down, you're the one he wants even if he can't admit it yet. You should go to him Tony."

"Tim..."

McGee smiled at the muffled sound of his name, but didn't move his fingers. "You deserve to be happy, Tony. I want you to be happy, so go to him." Tim stood and stepped around the kneeling man, pointing to the coat he'd tossed aside when they'd first arrived at the apartment. "Take some cash if you need it for a cab."

Tony didn't move until Tim closed the bathroom door behind him and Tony heard the shower turn on. Eventually he stood and walked to the chair where the coat was draped. With one hand wrapped around the wallet and the other hand pressed against the bathroom door, he stood and listened to the soft sobs he could hear under the flowing water, wondering just what in the hell he was going to do.


	3. Chapter 3

a/n - Yes, I've been posting this elsewhere. By the time I catch up, there should be new chapters.

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The water ran cold before Tim moved out from under the spray. Numb, and not just from the frigid water, he turned off the tap and climbed out of the shower stall to wrap a towel around his waist. Welcoming the cold, he made no attempt to dry himself before walking out into the bedroom. Staring at the floor, he only made it a few steps before he collided with a broad chest. Instinctively, his hands went up to catch himself and encountered bare skin.

"Tony? Why are you still here?" Tim looked up, but couldn't read the expression on the other man's face and the arms wrapped around him now made escape impossible. He had no choice but to walk backwards as Tony pushed him back into the bathroom.

Gentle lips kissed the red eyes. "I'm here because this is where I belong." He snagged another towel and started drying McGee, pleased when Tim didn't shy away from his touch. Once he was dry, Tony's next concern was getting him warmed up. Silently, he took Tim's hand and lead him to the large bed. While the shower had been running, Tony had folded the bedding back and stripped down to his boxers so there would be no distractions.

Tony pulled off the towel wrapped around Tim's waist, carefully watching the docile man as he sat him down on the edge of the bed. Tim seemed to have reached the end of his endurance, so Tony helped him lay down and tucked him in before climbing into the other side of the bed. Mindful of how eerily similar this was to the night Tim had spent in bed with Gibbs, he pulled the other man across his chest to warm him up, holding on and pretending Tim's trembling was strictly from the cold.

"I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's okay." Tony bent down and kissed Tim's forehead. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Tim turned his head to look at Tony. "We committed to each other and I let him have me. How can you even stand to look at me?"

Tony tried to smile, but it didn't quite happen. "Because if our positions had been reversed, I would have done the same thing. We may be a sorry pair, but we are a pair." He pulled Tim's head back down against his chest, but tipped back far enough that he could kiss him. It was their first true kiss since the night before he'd left as an Agent Afloat and he put everything he had into it. Not letting his desires cloud his head, Tony slowly deepened the kiss, waiting for Tim to relax against his mouth before working his tongue against the soft lips he'd come to love. Eventually, Tim's tongue joined his. It wasn't a fight for dominance, but a slow and careful joining. Tony backed off before he was tempted to push it further, kissing his way from Tim's mouth, up the side of his face, before pulling Tim's head back down onto his shoulder. "Sleep, Tim, just sleep." He stroked his hand up and down Tim's back until he stilled and his breathing deepened, but sleep did not come to the older man.

-NCIS-

The bright sunlight reminded Tony why he always preferred that Tim stayed over at his place. Turning his back on the window, he shifted them around until they were face to face. Tim didn't wake from the movement, telling Tony just how exhausted he was. Usually it was Tim that was awake and watching him, and now Tony realized why the other man enjoyed it. Tim looked so much younger in his sleep and watching him scrunch his nose every time Tony blew a puff of air across it made him smile.

It was the sound of Tony's stomach growling that finally woke the younger man. He stiffened and Tony rushed to assure him that he was safe. "Easy, Buddy, it's me."

"Tony, you stayed?"

The surprise was heartbreaking. "Yeah, I stayed. You and me, this is for real. I'm not going anywhere." He ran the back of his fingers down the side of Tim's face before leaning in for a kiss. When Tim responded, Tony let his hand trail down , stopping for a moment to tease the nipple with his thumb. His next stop was Tim's belly button, always a hot spot for the younger man. Tim squirmed, it tickled as much as it was erotic, and Tony playfully nipped at his ear.

Tony released the earlobe and started working down the side of Tim's neck, sucking and biting. He was careful not to leave any lasting marks, knowing how sensitive Tim's skin was. Even the redness from the scrape of his teeth would take several hours to fade.

He was careful to not work his hand below Tim's waist until he felt the cock against his thigh thicken and lengthen. Only then did he trail his fingers up and down the hardening flesh. He kept his touch light and teasing until Tim was panting and thrusting against him, begging for more.

"Tony, please."

"You like that, babe?"

"Not enough. Damn it, I'm not made of glass, DiNozzo. What are you... don't stop... Tony."

Instead of answering, Tony pulled away, grinning at the wailed cry of his name. He yanked off his boxers and tossed them off to the side before settling between Tim's thighs, kissing his way down his torso. Reaching the end of his journey, he bypassed Tim's shaft to tongue the firm balls nestled beneath it. As always, he marveled at how little body hair Tim had and how soft the hair was on his groin. It tickled his nose as he worked first one, then the other testicle with his mouth.

Tim spread his legs, pulling his knees up and then out, exposing himself fully to his lover and that simple act of trust almost took Tony's breath away. "Easy, easy, we'll get there but we're going to take our time. I'm not going to hurt you, I'll never hurt you." Recreating their first time together, Tony shifted and lined his cock up next to Tim's, wrapping his fist around them both.

Establishing a slow rhythm as they became slick and using his thumb to spread the moisture, Tony watched closely for any sign of distress, but Tim was urging him on. "Take me, Tony. Come on, you've waited long enough."

To prove his point, Tony laid on Tim, noting the swift, shaky breath he took, and then rolled them so they were laying on their sides. Still keeping the steady pace as he stroked them, with his other hand he raked his fingernail across Tim's entrance. The jump and gasp told him he was right. "Not yet, Tim. I'm not going to hurt you even if you think you deserve it."

Tim stilled and Tony shifted again, letting go of their shafts to wrap both arms around Tim. After a moment the rigid form in his arms sagged and Tim buried his head against Tony's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." Although they had both softened somewhat, he kept up the gentle pace, allowing their cocks to continue to rub together, slowly fanning the flame. "He hurt you. I'm not going to argue consent right now, but he physically hurt you." Tony started kissing him again, waiting to feel him relax. "That's it, Tim. We'll get there, I promise, but in the meantime, there's a lot of other ways we can pleasure each other, remember?"

Tony put action to words as he worked every hot spot on Tim's neck and shoulders, reveling in the feel as Tim grew hard against him once again. His hand crept back between them and resumed stroking. Six months at sea meant that Tony was ready to fall over that edge within moments, but he bit his lip and tried to picture his grandmother in a bikini. It wasn't until he heard the soft panting that signaled Tim's impending orgasm that Tony let himself go and they climaxed together.

Not letting go of their cocks, Tony rolled Tim onto his back and started kissing his way down his body, only releasing his own cock when he scooted down to lick up the side of Tim's shaft, circling his tongue around the head as he did. Still keeping the pace slow, he licked every inch of Tim clean, tasting the two of them mixed together. By the time he was done, Tim was hard and weeping again, and so was he.

Tim was struggling, reaching for him, so he shifted to the side allowing Tim to reach down and grasp his cock while he continued to use his mouth on Tim's. This time they lasted longer, but when Tony deepthroated him and started to hum, Tim came with a shout. Two more strokes from Tim's hand and Tony followed him over the edge.

Enjoying the afterglow, Tony laid his head on Tim's thigh and watched as Tim licked his own hand clean before reaching down to him. This time it was Tim that took the lead in positioning them and Tony found himself resting with his head on Tim's chest. The heartbeat under his ear lulled him back to sleep, the last thing he remembered was Tim kissing the top of his head.


	4. Chapter 4

Monday morning came much too early and it was with a rare sense of dread that Tony entered the bullpen. Tim had been a few minutes ahead of him and was already at his desk, digging into the pile of papers left there for him. Ignoring Gibbs, Tony gave Tim a quick grin before diving into his own paperwork stack. Ziva watched the exchange but didn't say anything.

Both men were aware of Gibbs watching them in addition to Vance, but a serious mood was set and they kept their faces buried in the paperwork. Even Abby's bouncing visit didn't distract them. Lunch was eaten at their desk after they both turned down offers. When the work day ended, they were both out of the bullpen before Gibbs could end his dismissal with an offer for beers to welcome the team back.

That night they spent at Tony's after dropping Tim's car off at his apartment. A movie played that they didn't watch, a pizza cooled that they didn't eat and Tony held Tim tight, whispering assurances that he didn't regret the decision to stay with the younger man.

On Tuesday, the stacks were smaller, but Vance did not see a team that had gelled enough to be out in the field. Tim pulled the necessary information remotely from Abby's computer rather than face her questions and the voice mails he hadn't gotten around to answering. A team-building session for the five of them was the last thing he and Tony needed. Gibbs had pizza delivered for lunch and that one cooled like the one still sitting in Tony's refrigerator.

By mid-afternoon, Ziva grew tired of waiting and followed Tim to the men's room, only to be stopped at the door by Tony.

"Don't."

"Something is wrong with McGee."

Fully aware of what she could do to him, he physically blocked the door. "I'm taking care of it, Ziva. Just let him be."

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. Usually by now he would be backing down or trying to sweet talk her, so whatever was going on, it had to be serious. "I do not believe you are doing a good job. You will tell me what is wrong."

Tony held his ground. "No, I won't. I won't violate his trust and I won't let you hurt him."

"I would not hurt him. How could you even suggest such a thing?"

"If you don't want to hurt him, then walk away from this, Ziva."

There was something in Tony's voice and his stance that told Ziva much more than his words ever would. "You are sure about this?"

"I'm sure."

When he entered the men's room and she reluctantly walked away, neither saw Gibbs' troubled face watching from the bullpen or Vance's worried face watching from the catwalk.

When the second workday ended, Tony distracted Gibbs with a question about a cold case, allowing Tim to quietly slip into the elevator alone, but not quick enough to hear the exchange.

"I realize that it's hard to get back in the swing of things, Tony, but just remember my door's always open."

Tony looked up just in time to see a pair of pain filled green eyes before the steel doors slid shut. He stumbled through an answer. "Yeah, I know, Boss." He didn't wait for the elevator to come back up, instead he took the stairs down, two at a time.

-NCIS-

It wasn't a shock when Tim drove straight to his apartment, not waiting to see if Tony would follow him. It did hurt, however, to see the surprise on Tim's face when Tony opened his car door. "How many times are we going to have to go through this?"

"I'm sorry, Tony."

Tony let his head hang for a minute before reaching out and taking Tim's hand. "Come on, let's talk inside." Tim was silent and meekly let Tony lead him by the hand through the parking lot and up to the apartment. Once inside he locked the door behind them and sat Tim in his computer chair before squatting down in front of him.

"What do I have to do to convince you that I'm not walking away from us?"

"Eventually, you're going to regret it and you'll hate me. You'll hate me for making you miss out on what you've always wanted. Don't you get it? I see him. He sits there, watching you, wanting you. He can give you everything you've ever wanted."

"Everything except you." Tony pulled him close. He'd known that Tim's self-esteem was sometimes as fragile as his skin, but he seemed to be coming apart right in front of Tony. "Come on, babe, let's take a shower and go to bed." He was growing worried about how compliant Tim was as he led him to the bathroom and undressed him like a child.

The steaming hot shower seemed to help, even if it made Tim look like a lobster. He was dead on his feet as Tony dried him and walked him back to the bed.

Laying in the dark, Tim draped across his chest, Tony wondered how they had gotten into this mess, and how they were going to get out of it. He thought about having Tim call in sick in the morning, but having Tony with Gibbs all day would probably destroy Tim. His next option was to stay away, himself, tomorrow, but he couldn't let Tim face Gibbs alone. What he needed was to find a way for the two of them to start over again someplace that had never heard of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. There was a fourth option, but it was so insane that he hadn't ever mentioned it out loud, even as it rattled around in his head.

Whatever was going to happen had better happen soon before they all shattered from the strain.

-NCIS-

Wednesday morning found Vance watching the team from his perch on the catwalk. The backlog of paperwork was almost gone and he'd expected Gibbs to be demanding to be out in the field before now. The least he'd expected was for the team leader to drag his team to the gym for some training and team building. Instead, Gibbs watched Tony and Tim, a sad look on his face while Ziva glared back at him. Seemingly oblivious to this, Tony appeared increasingly tense as he made a definite effort not to look at the older man, while constantly glancing over at McGee, a worried expression on his face. For his part, McGee never let his focus waver or shift from the folder in front of him, but he'd been staring at the same page for over three hours.

Choosing his target carefully, Vance decided to end the charade. "Agent DiNozzo, could I see you upstairs, please?"

With one last look at Tim, Tony stood and walked past Gibbs without saying a word. Once he reached the Director's office, he stood at parade rest, his time as an Agent Afloat showing very clearly.

"It can be hard, putting a team back together that has been apart for a while, DiNozzo."

Tony stared at a spot over Vance's left shoulder. "When something is shattered, it's not always possible to put it back together. Sometimes the pieces don't fit anymore."

"Is that what's happened to your team? You no longer fit together? You do know how hard Gibbs fought to bring you back?"

"And I do appreciate that, Director Vance. The life at sea isn't exactly my cup of tea, but..."

"But neither is going back to working under Gibbs again." Vance plucked Tony's personnel file out of a stack on his desk. "You ran the MCRT quite well while Gibbs was contemplating his navel in Mexico. Well enough that Director Shepard offered you your own team."

"Yes, sir."

"According to her notes, you turned down the offer, claiming to have more to learn from Gibbs. Looks to me that you're done learning from Gibbs."

Tony froze, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Vance watched him closely as he continued. "I'm making the offer again. We're increasing our presence in Southern Europe, adding a new team based in Greece. It's yours if you want it. A fresh start, with none of this hanging over your head."

"Mine?" Tony forced himself to stay calm as he looked directly at Vance for the first time since he'd walked into the office. "If it's a new team, do I get any say in putting it together?"

Vance sat back, clearly surprised. He hadn't known how DiNozzo would react to the offer, but that was a surprise. "Who do you have in mind?"

He took a deep breath. "The only way I would consider it would be if McGee were my senior agent."

"McGee? He has family, he has ties here. Do you really think he'd want to just up and move half way across the world?"

"You said it wasn't about punishment."

"It wasn't."

"Okay, so I ended up on a ship that I hated, and Ziva ended up back with Mossad, which she probably hated, but McGee was left behind." He could tell Vance wasn't understanding yet. "He was left behind, demoted back to cybercrimes."

"It wasn't a demotion." Even as he said the words, Vance was beginning to see how the change would have looked.

Tony just looked at him. "Not a demotion? He went from the top team in the agency to a hole in the sub-basement. At least Ziva and I got to do it among strangers who didn't know. Tim had to face people that knew. Every. Single. Day."

"He never said a word."

"You have met the man, right?" Tony was feeling a bit brave and very brash. "Tall, quiet, would take a bullet to the chest and finish writing up the incident report before he keeled over."

"Point taken." Vance leaned back and rubbed his face. "The truth is I want my best team back and at top form, but if that's not going to happen, I'm not losing either you or McGee to whatever has crawled up Gibbs' ass. Get out of here, DiNozzo, and take McGee with you. I'm sending the rest of the team home too. I don't want to see any of you until Monday. You and McGee give me your answer then. Will that work?"

"Can you give us a head start?"

"Thirty minutes, now go."

Tony didn't have to be told twice. He didn't slow down as he went down the stairs and through the bullpen. "McGee, you're with me. Vance's orders." Tim closed the files and grabbed his backpack in time to catch up with Tony at the elevator.

Ziva watched them leave, not moving until the elevator door closed behind them. She stalked over to Gibbs' desk. "What did you do to McGee?" When he didn't answer, she slammed her hands down on the polished surface. "What did you do?"


	5. Chapter 5

Tim had a dozen questions, but Tony's finger pressed against his lips stopped all of them while the elevator was still moving. Trusting Tony and the simple instructions he'd given, Tim drove to his apartment to wait.

It was a short wait and less than an hour later, Tony arrived with a duffel bag and a suitcase, both of which he shoved into Tim's closet. The younger man pointed at a pot as Tony came back out of the bedroom. "Drain that for me, will ya'?"

Tony grabbed the indicated pot and took it to the strainer already waiting in the sink. "Shrimp Scampi, my favorite. What did I do to deserve this treat?"

"You mean besides getting us an extra long weekend without even being on call? Don't know, but you were grinning pretty big when you left Vance's office."

"So you decided to get the answers out of me by plying me with food?" Tony dumped the drained pasta back in the pot before stepping up behind McGee and wrapping his arms around the younger man's waist.

Tim reached up over his shoulder and popped a shrimp in Tony's mouth. "Is it working?"

"Maybe. Eat first, then we'll talk in bed."

-NCIS-

The stack of paperwork Vance dumped on Gibbs' desk gave them more than a thirty minute head start and it was several hours before Gibbs and Ziva left for the long weekend. Ziva continued to glare at him as he silently worked, but he did not acknowledge her questions, going as far as taking the stairs as to not be caught in the elevator. Gibbs detoured to Tony's apartment on his way home, but the lights were off and his parking space was empty. He wasn't quite sure how he'd ended up in Silver Spring, it certainly wasn't on the route between Tony's place and his. He was even less sure about how he felt when he saw Tony's car parked next to Tim's Porsche. The jealousy was easy to identify, but for the life of him he didn't know who it was aimed at. Refusing to think about the implications, he drove home, not noticing another familiar car parked on the curb.

Ziva sat and watched as Gibbs arrived and then left, not relaxing until his car was out of sight. Her trust in Tony's ability to fix whatever was hurting McGee increased when she arrived to find Tony already here. She would not interfere with them, as Tony had asked, but if Gibbs had gone upstairs, she would have followed to back up her partners.

As she watched, the lights went off in McGee's apartment, one by one, until only a soft glow of a secondary light was left in the bedroom. Ziva continued to wait, but Tony did not appear to be leaving. She gave it another hour before she finally left, concerned that whatever was wrong had Tony too worried to leave McGee alone.

-NCIS-

As soon as the dishes were rinsed and stacked in the sink, Tony started turning off the lights and carefully herded Tim into the bedroom. A serious conversation was needed, but he didn't want to stress out his lover and he knew where Tim's mind would go if this wasn't handled properly. He left one small lamp on in the bedroom and stripped down to his boxers, watching as Tim also did the same. Tony climbed into the bed first, moving the pillows around to prop himself up before pulling Tim up against him.

"This is what I dreamed about every night aboard ship." Tony's voice was just above a whisper as he nuzzled Tim's face and stroked his fingers down the pale arm draped across his chest. "Not the sex, but the closeness. I don't ever want to lose you, us, this."

Tim smiled at Tony's fumbling attempt to describe what they were both feeling. He kissed the skin directly under his mouth. "You won't lose me, Tony, not..."

This time the 'until you leave me for Gibbs' was left unspoken, which Tony considered progress and a starting point for what they needed to talk about. He started it off casually, knowing that at some point it was going to get harder. "So, the way I see it, we have four options available."

"Four?" Tim tilted his head back enough to see Tony's face, but the other man still looked relaxed and comfortable.

"Yeah." Tony looked at Tim's hand, feeling the warmth of it on his chest, before he laced his fingers between Tim's and brought their joined hands up to kiss Tim's palm. "We've talked a lot about option one, where I leave you for Gibbs. A year ago, I would have, but now we're so real, so solid."

Tim didn't move as he listened. Tony shrugged as he told the rest. "Back then, I really got off on the idea of him topping me, you know, being really dominate."

"And now?"

"Now, I don't think I'm as much of a bottom as I used to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not turning into this heavy duty top. I really like the idea of us taking turns, and I really love going to sleep with you draped across me like this."

Tim was smiling now. "Yeah?"

"Oh, yeah, and sometimes, when I've had a rough day, I love it when you get bossy and take care of me. We don't have defined roles, we just..." Tony stumbled, trying to find the right words, but Tim finished the thought for him.

"Take care of each other, love each other." Tim raised up on one arm and kissed Tony, slowly letting the kiss deepen before eventually pulling back to lay his head back down on Tony's shoulder. "So, what's option two?"

"You leave me for Gibbs." Tony laid still and waited for the reaction.

"What? No way." A quick shift and Tim was straddling Tony, straight arms supporting him as he stared down in shock. "No, just no, besides it's you that he wants, not me."

"I'm not so sure about that." Tony ran his fingertips down Tim's ass slowly. "I've seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching."

"It doesn't matter. What we have is the kind of relationship I want, Tony, but it's the kind of relationship that would suffocate Gibbs. I won't throw us away for a fling with him, especially not after..." Tim looked away as his words faded.

"After he hurt you?" Tony chose his words carefully, not referring to what had happened as a rape, even though in his mind he still wasn't sure. "Even if he wanted to make it up to you, to show you how good it could be?"

Tim settled back down onto Tony, tangling their legs together as he pressed his face against the hollow of Tony's neck. "I'm not walking away from the best thing in my life for a maybe or a possible with someone else, even for him. Next option?"

Tony couldn't help the smile at his stubborn Probie's pronouncement and took a deep breath. "Option three came straight from Vance." Tim's head raised back up at those words and Tony waited until they made eye contact before telling the rest. "I've been offered my own team in Europe."

"What? But..."

A finger across the lips stopped Tim as Tony continued to explain. "I told him that the only way I would consider it would be if you went as my senior agent, and he agreed to it."

"He agreed to that?" Tony watched as Tim's entire face lit up.

"Yeah, babe, he did. He also gave us the long weekend to make a decision. We're the top team in the agency and Vance would like to see it stay together, but if it can't, he said he doesn't want to lose either of us."

"See, I told you that he knows your worth. Wow, Europe?"

He could already see the gears turning. "Greece, land of Zeus and Ares." After sharing a smile, Tony turned serious. "It would be a fresh start for both of us and no Gibbs looking over our shoulder, but it would also mean being a long way from your family and your publisher and no Gibbs to back us up if a situation goes sour."

Tim laid his head back down on Tony. "We wouldn't be here to back up Gibbs and Ziva if something went bad here either."

"I know. It's a big decision, that's why Vance is giving us a four day weekend to decide if we want to salvage what we have here or start over someplace else."

The mention of the four day weekend reminded Tim and he raised up again to look at Tony. "You said four options, so what's the fourth option? Just staying the way things are now? Because I'm not sure if..." The finger returned to his lips as Tony gave a sad smile in understanding.

"Because if you have to sit there with Gibbs watching me, it will tear you apart?"

"I'm sorry." Tim started to move away, but Tony wrapped his arms around the younger man and pulled him back down against his chest.

"Hey, it's okay. I feel the same way about him watching you. That's why if we stay, I think... I think heneedstojoinus."

The rushed and jumbled words made no sense at first as Tim shifted to rest his chin on the center of Tony's chest. "What? It sounded like... you can't be serious, Tony. Join us? You're talking about a threesome, like..."

"Like we used to fantasize about in the beginning., yeah."

Those old fantasies still got a rise out of both of them, and they both shifted slightly to better rub against each other, but Tim wasn't quite convinced. "He'll never go for it."

"If he doesn't, then we go on to Europe with no regrets and no second thoughts, but I think we need to settle this one way or another, for all our sakes."

"I hope you have a plan."

"I always have a plan, Probie." With that, he rolled them so that Tim was on the bottom and showed him the first part of the plan in great and intimate detail.

-NCIS-

"Do you want breakfast before you go?"

Tony was sitting on the edge of the bed, tying his shoes. "Nah, we'll eat on the road after I get back. I want to be at the cabin by noon, so you get your stuff packed while I'm at Gibbs'.

"I love you."

Even with his proclamation, Tim looked nervous and Tony pulled him close. "I'll be back before you know it and we'll be on our way. I promise." They kissed again before Tony reluctantly pulled away and slipped out the door.

For all his apparent bravado and confidence, Tony had to pull over twice to calm down on his way to Gibbs'. He had no real idea how to bring up his plan with Gibbs or how the older man would react to the idea. Much too soon he was pulling into Gibbs' driveway.

It had been many months since he'd been at Gibbs' house, but nothing had changed. The faint sounds of sanding confirmed where he needed to go, and after one more deep breath he walked down the steps.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs had been tracking his visitor since he'd heard the door open, but he didn't look up until Tony was standing in front of him.

Usually it was Tony that filled the air with chatter, especially when he was nervous, but today he was silent as he studied the older man standing in front of him. It made Gibbs nervous, feeling the growing confrontation.

"Thought you'd be out celebrating your return to land."

"Had something else to celebrate." Tony started wandering around the basement, picking up and setting down the various tools. "Course, things were a lot more complicated than I expected when I got back."

Gibbs didn't say anything, but turned to his workbench and poured himself a glass of bourbon. Tony watched with narrowed eyes. "Bourbon for breakfast, Boss?"

"It's five o'clock somewhere, isn't that what you used to tell me?" Even unspoken, the guilt was a physical presence in the room, but it gave Tony the opening he needed.

"He thinks you don't remember."

Gibbs stared into his glass as he swirled the amber liquid. "You here to arrest me?"

"Would that make you feel better?" When there was no answer, Tony shook his head and pressed on. "He didn't fight you, and he won't call it rape, but why in the hell did you have to bring my name into it?"

Instead of answering, Gibbs leaned heavily against the workbench as Tony continued to address his back. "How long? How long have you been jonesing for me? How long have you been fantasizing about fucking my ass?" When he didn't get an answer, Tony grabbed the glass out of his hand and threw it against the far wall. "Damn it, how long?"

Gibbs didn't turn around, but he did straighten up. "Since I hired you."

"You sanctimonious bastard." This time Gibbs didn't have a choice as Tony lunged and spun him around. "All that time and you never said a damn word. What about Tim? When did you start fantasizing about him? Don't lie to me, I've seen you watch his ass"

"I'm not sure." Once he was released, Gibbs slid down to the floor, all illusions of denial gone. "He... he kinda crept up on me. When he stood up to me over his sister and..."

"He's hot when he's all fired up, isn't he?" Spent, Tony dropped down next to Gibbs, staring at his hands. "We have to thank you, you know, it was our mutual lusting after you that brought us together."

That finally got Gibbs to look at him. "You and McGee?"

"Yeah, and we were really happy with our ignorance, Gibbs, and then you had to go and screw it up for us." Tony thumped his head against the leg of the workbench. "He's scared that I'll leave him for you, and he's even more scared that I won't and that someday I'll regret it."

"Tony, I..."

"The crazy thing is that I understand how he feels, because sometimes I feel the same way. I mean, look at him. He's beautiful and he's so damn smart. He could do anything he wanted, have anyone he wants if he really put his mind to it. He thinks I settled for him, but he's the one that settled."

"Tony..."

"We can't go on like this, Gibbs, being around you is tearing us into pieces. Tim and I have narrowed it down to two options, and now it's up to you."

"Me?"

"You." Tony rubbed the sides of his face. "You join us, in our bed. Maybe not every day, but enough that we have some sort of relationship, the three of us."

"The three of us?"

"You know, a threesome, a triad, a menage a trois, a..."

"I got it, DiNozzo, but why?"

"You were the catalyst, the joint dream that brought us together, but it was safe because you weren't interested in us, in either of us. Now, the cat's out of the bag and we can't pretend we don't know."

Gibbs pinched the bridge of his nose. "And if I say no?"

"Then Tim and I accept Vance's offer and head up the new team in Greece."

"Sounds like blackmail."

"Not blackmail, just reality. Tim and me, that's forever. Forty years from now, we're going to be a couple of those old men in the park playing chess together and arguing about whose turn it is to do the laundry."

Gibbs couldn't help but smile. "Chess, Tony? You don't even play chess."

Tony rolled his head to look at Gibbs straight on. "I know, but for Tim I'd learn. The only uncertainty in our lives right now is our relationship with you, and right now things are too raw for it to be halfway."

"If I agree, then what?"

Tony dug a folded paper out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Gibbs. "We're leaving to spend the long weekend at a cabin. If you're going to join us, then show up tomorrow afternoon, and Boss?"

Gibbs waited while Tony levered himself upright before continuing. "Tim was a virgin the night you took him."

"What?"

"I was his first guy and we were taking it slow. This weekend, I want to make it special for him and you owe it to him, too." Tony left before Gibbs could respond, even if he'd known what to say.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony managed to make it half way back to Tim's apartment before he stopped at a gas station and made a mad dash to the restroom to puke. When it was over, he hung onto the sink and forced his breathing to slow back down. He was going to have to tell Tim about this latest development and he didn't have a clue how best to do it. The only thing he knew for sure was that Tim needed to know before Gibbs arrived, which meant that Tony was going to have to be the one to tell him that all of his suffering to protect Gibbs was in vain. The other man had known, possibly from the beginning.

Despite his misgivings, Tony knew he couldn't wait any longer or Tim would believe the decision to choose option one had been made. Tony walked around to the convenience store attached to the gas station and bought a package of gum. It wasn't mouthwash, but it would have to do. He made one more stop on his way back to Tim's apartment, grateful he still had the fake Tony DiNardo ID and a pre-paid credit card.

-NCIS-

Tim had packed first thing that morning, but while he was waiting, he checked everything in his bag and repacked it again – twice. Tony's suitcase had clothes for work on Monday so Tim hung them up. He'd made a shopping list of groceries to buy before they arrived at the cabin. First he'd alphabetized it, then he'd sorted it out by departments. He'd changed the bed, folding precision corners that would have made his dad proud. Then he'd cleaned out the refrigerator and washed down the shelves before attacking the grout on the kitchen counters with a toothbrush.

The one thing he couldn't figure out was why he was so out of breath, but then Tony was there and it was all Tim could do to not throw himself at the other man.

"You ready to go?" Tony smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes, and there was a piece of gum in his mouth. Tony never chewed gum unless he needed to cover his breath.

"Tony?"

Pulling him closer, Tony kissed his forehead. "It was rougher than I thought. Let's get the hell out of here, okay? We'll talk on the way."

Locking the door behind them, Tim followed Tony down to the parking lot, where he received his first surprise.

"It's a rental." Tony shrugged and opened the passenger door on the Jeep. "If we change our minds about this, then nobody will know what we're driving." Nodding at the logic, Tim tossed his bag into the back and climbed in while Tony circled around to the driver's side, tossing his own bag in.

Instead of talking, Tony cranked up the radio and Tim recognized it as a signal that the other man wasn't ready to talk. After an hour and they were well out of town, Tony signaled and they pulled into a rest stop. Still silent, Tony got out and started walking down a randomly chosen path. Tim scrambled to catch up with him and the two of them finally stopped at a weathered picnic bench.

The two men sat on the table, feet up on the bench, Tim staying there when Tony jumped back down and started to pace. Eventually Tony settled in front of Tim, his elbows resting on Tim's knees as he leaned close. Tim cupped Tony's face in his hands and pulled him closer. "Tony, whatever it is, just tell me."

"He knows what happened that night." The hands dropped from his face.

"You told him?"

"He remembered."

"Oh, God." Tim curled up on himself, resting his forehead on Tony's as he shuddered.

For Tony, once that was out, the rest came easier and the words tumbled out. "He asked if I was there to arrest him, so he knows that you didn't consent. I told him that you wouldn't call it rape and that I know that he's been wanting me for a while. He didn't deny it, in fact he said he's felt that way from the beginning."

Tim let out a sob and started to pull away but Tony grabbed on and held him tight. "I asked him when he started wanting you and that I'd seen him looking, so he couldn't deny it."

Tony paused, but Tim didn't ask even though he'd stilled. "You snuck up on him, kinda like you did with me." He felt Tim's smile against his skin.

"He admitted it to himself when Sarah was in trouble. See, I told you that you're sexy as hell when you're mad." Tony kissed the side of his face before pulling back enough to see Tim's reaction.

"That's why you pick some of the stupidest fights?" His eyes were still haunted, but there was a touch of a smile on Tim's lips.

Tony waggled his eyebrows, helping to break that smile free. "Can't have make-up sex without the fight first, isn't that right?" Taking a deep breath, he turned serious. "Needed you to know all this before we got there and before Gibbs arrives. It's not too late to change your mind."

Tim thought about it for a moment. "In a way it makes it easier."

"Yeah?" Tony wasn't expecting that. "How come?"

Shrugging, Tim ducked his head back down. "It means that I'm not just something he has to put up with to be with you."

"Oh, Timmy." Tony wrapped his arms around Tim and pulled him close. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Gibbs. You and me, that's forever. Even when we're old and gray, you're still going to be the center of my world." Tony felt Tim's grip on his shirt tighten and kissed the side of his head. "We can add Gibbs in or not, it won't change anything between us, not where it counts. Okay?"

Tim smiled, looking directly into Tony's eyes for the first time since they'd left the car. "Okay."

"So, are we going to do this?"

"Yeah, let's do this."

-NCIS-

At the last town before the turn off for the cabin, they stopped for breakfast. The little diner, Betty and Gary's Grub, was a place Tim had discovered years ago. With the peeling paint on the outside and only ten booths on the inside, most tourists passed it on by, missing some of the best food along the way.

Betty greeted them as they walked in the door. "Morning, boys, your usual?"

Tony smiled and nodded as they threaded their way through to a table in the back. She left a couple of cups and a pot of coffee on the table and fifteen minutes later two huge plates of food were delivered. They were silent while they ate. Tim cut off a chunk of his omelet for Tony who replaced it with a wedge of the cinnamon roll French toast from his own plate, snagging a scoop of the seasoned potatoes as he did. Betty just rolled her eyes when she went by.

After breakfast Tony and Tim walked across the street to the small grocery store and it was Tony's turn to roll his eyes. Food was more expensive here than at the chain store by McGee's apartment, but the younger man liked to support the local economy. It was familiar territory, Tony would complain about the extra expense and then drop a couple of bills in the jar for the local high school's grad night. Tim would smile and pretend not to notice.

It was another twenty minute drive from there, the road getting narrower and curvier as they got further from civilization. Several hundred plots of land were out here, varying in size. The one Tim had inherited from his mother's uncle was only about five acres, which made it one of the smallest, but the creek that flowed along one edge more than made up for the size. Tony had his doubts the first time Tim had brought him out here to show him the run down log cabin, but now, after time and sweat, he loved the place as much as Tim did. He stopped in the spot they'd leveled for parking. "Okay, much nicer drive in this instead of my car."

"You suggesting that I sell the Porsche and get something with 4WD?" Tim grinned at the look of horror on Tony's face. They kept it a secret from everyone, but Tony drove the Porsche almost as much as Tim did.

Tony thought quickly. "Maybe I'll trade my car in for one. That would freak everyone out." Tim had to agree.

"Tony DiNozzo going through a mid-life crisis. That would set off a panic."

"Funny." But Tony was smiling when he climbed out of the Jeep. "What do you say we put everything away real quick and take a walk?"

"Sounds good."

With a bit of planning, it took just one trip to get everything into the cabin. Tony tossed their duffel bags into the bedroom and opened the windows to air the place out while Tim put the food away. Ten minutes later, they were on their walk, a small backpack thrown over Tony's shoulder.

As was their routine, they walked the boundary of the property first, checking for any breaks in the fence lines to the north and west. Natural breaks and the creek protected the rest of the property line and Tim, like his great-uncle before him, refused to block either the view or the path of the local wildlife. They ended up at what Tony called their 'loving tree' a large oak about twenty feet above the creek. Massive roots and a depression in the ground between them make the perfect spot to waste away the hours.

Tony pulled an old blanket out of his backpack and he and Tim spread it out with the ease of familiarity, getting it just right before they settled down. Tony used the backpack as a pillow and Tim sat wedged in between his legs. Shoes were kicked off and fingers interwoven as they watched a family of beaver building a dam on the other side of the creek.

"Some days I wish we could stay out here forever."

"Yeah?" Tony nuzzled the side of Tim's neck. "This coming from the man that goes into withdrawals on day three with no computer?"

It was an old, familiar argument and they both knew it. "You could keep me distracted." Tim felt the lips against his skin turn up into a smile.

"Oh, I could, could I?" Tony rolled them, tossing the backpack to the side.

-NCIS-

Gibbs couldn't avoid it any longer and slowly picked up the pieces of broken glass from the basement floor. Distracted, one piece sliced his thumb and he swore under his breath. He watched the blood well up on his skin and slowly sank down on the steps, wondering how badly he'd hurt McGee that night and if he'd ever learn the full truth. Part of him already knew, the faint traces of blood on the blanket he'd been wrapped up in didn't match to any injury on him. How many times had he fantasized about one or both of the younger men under his command, but now the question was, had he destroyed it all before he'd ever had a chance? Despite the offer, he really doubted it would be that simple.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony smiled as he popped the button on Tim's jeans and slowly worked the zipper down. He'd told Gibbs he wanted to make this weekend special for McGee and it started now. Keeping his touch light, he ran his fingers up and down Tim's shaft, feeling the increasing heat through the thin cotton boxers. When Tim started to thrust up against him, he playfully bit at his neck. "We gonna get naughty out here in the open?"

It was an old joke. "You afraid of scaring the squirrels?" By now Tim had his hand inside Tony's pants and was fondling his balls. "Don't think these are the kind of nuts they want."

"You want them, Timmy?" Tony's voice had gotten low and throaty.

"Yeah, I do." They disentangled and pulled their jeans down before kicking them off. Before he removed his boxers, Tim turned serious. "I want you inside me this weekend, Tony. I'm ready and I want that."

"Me too." Tony leaned close and brushed his lips across Tim's shoulder. "I'll make it good for you, I promise."

"I know you will." Tim smiled and straddled Tony, his dick leaving a trail of moisture across Tony's belly as he scooted down. "And I'm going to make it good for you, now." He bent down and sucked Tony into his mouth, circling his tongue around the head before swallowing down until his nose was pressing against the crisp hair. One hand played with Tony's balls, tugging on them gently whenever he was getting close to a climax.

"Damn it, you're killing me, Probie." Tony tried thrusting up, but Tim had him too well pinned down, the vibration from his laugh almost enough to push Tony over the edge. Without warning, Tim pulled off of him and straightened up, the sudden chill on Tony's cock pulled his balls up even tighter against his body. "What? No, don't stop."

Tim just smiled and knee-walked up Tony's body until his cock was almost next to Tony's. He'd been working it with his other hand and it was hard and leaking. "Not stopping, Tony."

Tony couldn't take his eyes off the two cocks in Tim's hands. Tim pumped his own shaft a few more times, aiming it at Tony's when he came. Tim's ejaculate was hot and thick as it hit the tip of Tony's cock and oozed down over it. Tim continued to pump until every last drop was coating Tony, then he started to slowly jack Tony, using his own fluids as a lube. Where Tim was thick and slow, Tony's emissions were thinner and traveled further. Knowing this, Tim angled Tony towards himself as he pumped.

"Oh, fuck." The rapidly changing sensations were almost overwhelming. From being on the edge several times, to the shock of the cold, to the warmth of Tim's fluids pouring down over him, Tony came with a shout. He watched as it hit Tim's chest, then his chin, then splattered on the leaves of a low hanging branch.

When he caught his breath enough to think again, Tony looked up at Tim. Naked, flushed and covered with Tony's come, he was the hottest thing Tony had ever seen. Smiling at Tony, Tim began to lick his own hand and Tony sat up and joined in.

-NCIS-

Cleaning up with the wipes they kept in the backpack, Tony had to admit that their activities hadn't quenched all of his hungers. "Okay, I'm hungry. What's for dinner?"

Tim laughed as he sorted out whose socks were whose. "Tony, you're always hungry."

It was true, but he wasn't ready to concede the point. "Then you should be ready to feed me at a moment's notice."

Giving up and shoving all the socks in the pack, Tim stood and pulled Tony up. "Ten minutes quick enough?"

"That'll work." Slipping his bare feet into his shoes, Tony scooped up the pack. When he'd first come to the cabin with Tim, it had been totally off the grid. A few months before what they now called the 'Jenny disaster' the neighbor to the north had electricity brought to his place. It had taken some talking and a memorable blow-job, but Tony had eventually convinced Tim to joining into the project. This was Tony's first time back to the cabin since it was finished and he was looking forward to the added comfort.

Arriving back at the cabin, Tony really looked at the kitchen for the first time since the upgrade, not the quick glance he'd made on his way to the bedroom. A new, electric refrigerator wasn't a surprise since it was the main reason for getting power, but the other changes were a bit of a surprise. "You re-did the whole kitchen."

Tim shrugged as he walked to the fridge and pulled out two water bottles. "Refrigerator didn't fit, so I had to pull out that row of drawers. Then I found some damage behind the stove and it kinda grew from there. Besides, cybercrimes was strictly a nine to five, forty hour a week gig and I needed something to keep me busy. You like it?"

Tony walked into the kitchen area and took a closer look. The old cabin had been sturdily built and had cleaned up easily once they'd decided to put the effort into it, but the primitive kitchen with the plywood cabinets and rusty wood stove had always pulled it back down. Now the new knotty pine cabinets and slate countertops really improved the looks. The new electric stove that matched the refrigerator was just icing on the cake.

"Yeah, I really do. Get satellite for the computer and we actually could live out here. Too bad it's so far away from DC."

"Not exactly a daily commute, that's for sure." Tim came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Tony's waist. Despite his pride in the job, he'd been a little worried about what others would think of his work. Even though the cabinets were pre-finished, he'd never assembled and installed anything that elaborate before.

Tony turned in the arms holding him and wrapped his own arms around Tim. "If I'd known about all this, I'd have bought a bottle of champagne so we could properly toast it. Guess we'll have to settle for a beer."

"I didn't buy any beer."

"What, no beer? Why... oh, come on, I haven't been drunk since that first night back." Tim didn't say anything, but the look spoke volumes and Tony realized that he was right. "Okay, we probably should be totally sober this weekend while we sort everything out with Gibbs."

"Or about Gibbs, if he doesn't show up."

"He will. Believe me, I know the man. He'll show up, even if it's to let us tear him a new one for what he did, so feed me, already."

Tim laughed at the dramatically acted out starvation scene and shook his head. "Okay, I'll feed you. Grab the plates, will you?"

Although Tim was the cook between the two of them, he insisted on easy when they were at the cabin. At least for the first night, the new kitchen hadn't changed that and they ate a simple meal of deli meat sandwiches, potato salad and chips while sitting on the covered porch. Tim watched as Tony slowly relaxed, catching the plate before it could slip out of his hand. For someone who insisted he liked clubbing and the assorted night life found in town, Tony always seemed to soak up the peace they found out here, even more than Tim.

Still a little nervous about what would happen if Gibbs showed up, and worried about what it would do to Tony if he didn't show up, Tim draped a blanket over Tony before settling in to wait.

-NCIS-

It was dark when Tony woke up, a light from inside the cabin casting long shadows on the porch. He was warm, despite the evening chill, but when he looked over, Tim was curled up in his chair, shivering in his sleep. "Ah, Timmy."

Tony stood and tugged McGee to his feet. "Come on, babe, let's get inside and get you warmed up." Wrapping the blanket that had been over him around Tim's shoulders, he steered the younger man inside.

The residual heat in the blanket felt good, almost as good as Tony's arms around him and Tim let himself be led inside and into the bedroom. He was quickly stripped and put into bed.

Shucking his clothes in a hurry, Tony climbed into the bed and wrapped his arms around Tim, trying to get him warm again. "What were you doing? Why didn't you get another blanket or wake me up?"

"Didn't want to wake you because you looked so peaceful. Didn't mean to fall asleep, sorry."

"It's okay, I like getting you warmed up." True to his word, Tony snuggled against him and held on tight, smiling as he felt Tim's lips working the skin on his neck.

Finally warm, Tim pulled back far enough to look at Tony. "I want you in me tonight – even if it's just a finger."

Tony hadn't been expecting that, especially after their activities on their walk earlier. "You sure?"

Looking more serious that Tony could remember, Tim climbed on top of him, holding his face with both hands. "No matter what we do with Gibbs, or what happens tomorrow, I want the first time you enter my body to be just between the two of us, okay?"

"Yeah." Tony rolled them over so he was on top, smiling widely. "That's more than okay."

He trailed one hand slowly down Tim's body watching Tim's face closely. "Gonna take it slow and make it good for you. Even just a finger is going to rock your world." Teasingly, he ran his fingertips down Tim's shaft before circling around the head, feeling it thicken and start to lift up. Next, he worked his fingers down the backside of Tim's dick to his balls. From there, he finger-walked across his balls to the next destination.

Pressing and rubbing behind Tim's sack, Tony smiled at the moan. "That's good, isn't it? We've done this lots of times, but when I'm inside you it'll be ten times better." He pulled away long enough to reach the lube he'd stashed in the bedside table.

Watching Tim carefully, Tony saw nervousness, but not fear in those expressive green eyes. Satisfied, he coated his fingers and returned to rubbing Tim peritoneum, making smaller circles until he was touching Tim's hole.

"Okay, Tim, bear down a little bit." When he felt the skin flex, Tony pushed in until he buried to his first knuckle. He grinned at Tim. "Wild, huh?"

"Yeah." Tim looked thoughtful, as if he were deciding if he liked the sensation, so Tony started pushing again, ever so slowly sliding his finger inside until his hand was pressed up against Tim's ass.

Under other circumstances, Tony would have been prepping Tim to take several fingers and then his dick, but Tony wanted this first foray into anal play to be all about pleasure without the slightest amount of pain if he could help it. With just the lightest pressure, he started rubbing Tim's prostate and at the same time, he took Tim's soft cock into his mouth and started sucking. By the time the cock in Tony's mouth was hard, Tim was beginning to thrust against Tony's finger.

With a slurp, Tony pulled away from Tim's dick and smiled. "Starting to feel good, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah."

Tony increased the speed and the pressure, wanting to give Tim a taste of what he had to look forward too, but without dragging it out too long and making him sore. He bent back down and sucked the head of Tim's cock before turning his attention to Tim's balls.

Over the years, Tony had had several male partners, quick encounters in back rooms and alleys with men that would give him the dominance he craved. Tim was so different than any of them, his first real relationship, and it brought out entirely different feeling in him.

"Oh, Oh." Getting close, Tim's body was taut, the cords in his neck standing out as he arched up. A few seconds later, fluid splashed against his stomach and he sagged onto the bed. Expecting an emotional storm, Tony laid down next to him and gathered him close.

"I've got you, easy now. That's it." Tony brushed his lips against Tim as he murmured assurances. "That's the way it's going to be from now on."

-NCIS-

After a restless day sorting the attic, weeding the yard and sanding wood, Gibbs was back in his basement pacing. He'd memorized the directions on the little slip of paper a thousand times over, but he was no closer to a decision than he'd been when Tony stormed out eighteen very long hours ago. He raked his hands through his hair and wondered again just what in the hell he was going to do.


	8. Chapter 8

Tony vaguely remembered Tim sliding out of bed as the sun was just starting to peek over the mountains, but the gentle kiss on his forehead and the fingers that trailed through his hair told him not to worry and lulled him back to sleep. The next thing he was aware of was the smell of frying bacon.

Now awake, Tony stretched, but made no effort to climb out of bed just yet as he thought about the day ahead. One way or another, they'd have an answer before the sun came back down Maybe not all of the answers they'd need, but the first one. If Gibbs didn't show, then they could pack up and leave for Greece without second guessing themselves. If Gibbs did show, well, McGee's flow chart would get a lot more complicated.

A noise at the doorway and he looked up to see Tim walk in with a tray piled high with food. Tony sat up and moved the pillows around for both of them, then held the tray while Tim climbed back into the bed. "Wow, breakfast in bed. What did I do to deserve this?"

Tim fed Tony a bite of scrambled egg. "You came home to me, and I'm not even talking about this whole thing with Gibbs. I worried the whole time you were gone."

The idea of Tim worrying about him brought a lump to Tony's throat. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Tim continued to finger feed him, smiling a bit as Tony would lick his hand. "We had to be so careful and professional when we talked, but I could tell how much you were still hurting over what happened and I couldn't risk saying anything."

"I know." Tony grasped Tim's hand and kissed each fingertip. "I could see in your eyes, even over those crappy shipboard monitors. That's why I never called when we were in port. I was so afraid that I'd admit how guilty I felt, how the fear of letting you down was the only thing that kept me from drowning myself in a bottle."

"Oh, Tony," shifting carefully as to not knock over the food, Tim leaned against him. "You've never let me down, not when it really counted."

"And you're the first lover I've ever had that makes me want to keep that up, you know?"

"Yeah?" Tim tilted his head back enough for Tony to bend down and kiss him.

"Yeah."

-NCIS-

Gibbs stared at the half-packed bag sitting on his bed. He still hadn't made the conscious decision to go, but he was packing and preparing by rote. Maybe he'd just use the extended weekend to get some fishing in. Either way, he was packing and leaving for the weekend, no decisions necessary – at least that's what he told himself as he shook his head at the irony of deciding to not make a decision.

-NCIS-

"Okay, what's on the work orders for the day?" Dressed like Tim in cut-offs and a t-shirt, Tony stood on the porch with a cup of coffee. Tim smiled, knowing which job Tony would want even before he listed off the options.

"Working on the kitchen has got me a little behind with the outside maintenance. Gutters and roof need to be cleaned, caulking needs to be touched up and, of course, chopping wood for this Winter."

"You got my chopping doohickey?"

Tim's smile grew wider as he remembered Tony's accusation that Tim was the Tom Sawyer of the wood chopping world. That was right before he'd taken away Tim's fancy imported ax and handmade log holder and claimed the job for his own. "Yeah, I've got your rotating block, even bought a new tire for it while you were gone."

"Cool." Tony looked up at the cabin roof. Eventually they were going to have to strip the old shake roof and replace it, but they'd hoped to get at least one more year out of it. In the meantime, keeping the moss down and the debris out of the crevices was a regular chore.

The roof was quite steep on the cabin, but shallower over the large covered porch that surrounded three sides. Neither one of them enjoyed being up on the roof, but Tim's fear of heights usually came back to bite him in the ass on this chore. "Why don't we both work on the roof this morning? You do the gutters and the porch roof and I'll climb up and do the roof on the house. Then later, you can do the caulking and I'll chop firewood."

It wasn't totally an even split in the workload, since the debris from the cabin roof would land on the porch roof, but Tim was grateful to not have the extra climb. "Thanks, Tony."

Tools were gotten out of the lean-to at the back of the cabin and they settled in to work, Tony unobtrusively watching the road for any approaching familiar vehicles. Nothing was approaching and the steepness of the roof meant that less debris tended to get caught along the edges of the shingles, so two hours later, he was starting on the other end of the porch roof.

Shirts had been shed and they were hot and sweaty, but both enjoyed the view as they continued to work. The scenery wasn't bad either.

-NCIS-

Still not certain about his destination, Gibbs walked out of the grocery story with a bag in one arm and a case of beer balanced on his other hip. Loading everything in the truck, he refilled his coffee and pulled back out onto the road. Eventually, he pulled over as he stared at the directions and the intersection in front of him. This was it, decision time. The road ahead was a dead end, left would get him safely to a popular camping area, while right would put him on an entirely different path. Unable to delay any longer, he activated his turn signals as he shifted the truck into gear.

-NCIS-

Hot, sweaty and finally off the roof, Tony was considering a quick jump in the creek when something wet hit his shoulder. Cursing, he glared up at the nearest tree, looking for the offending bird. No bird was over him and the hand that wiped at his shoulder came away wet, but clean. Suspicious, he whipped around in time to get squirted in the face.

"Why, you..." McGee disappeared around the corner, squirt gun in hand, but he'd left a second one, filled, and on the corner of the deck, and the chase was on.

-NCIS-

Gibbs found his turn off and followed the narrow driveway. The cabin was not visible from the road and he had no idea what to expect. He even considered turning around at one point, but it was definitely a one car lane. By the time it widened out enough for him to attempt it, he was looking at a simple, rustic cabin with his two 'boys' playing in the front. By pure instinct, he shoved the gearshift into park and leaned forward.

He felt his mouth go dry as he watched Tony and Tim frolicking around like they didn't have a care in the world. Wearing tiny cut-offs, tennis shoes and apparently nothing else, their skin flushed and damp, they looked like his own personal Sirens, dedicated to drawing him in to what both excited and terrified him. Jethro Gibbs was a loner, only one person had ever cracked that tough facade and losing her had almost killed him. He'd sworn he'd never get that close to another living person again, but there they were, their laughter drawing him in.

They noticed his presence and turned towards the truck, Tim in front of Tony. Gibbs was surprised at that, until he saw Tony's hand stroking Tim's chest before moving down to grasp his cock through his shorts, all the while looking directly at Gibbs, the direct challenge laid out. _Here we are, Boss, make your final choice. Come claim us or lose us forever._

Not willing to leave, but not ready to make the decision, Gibbs put the truck back into gear, but didn't touch the accelerator as he continued to watch and think. The truck rolled forward slowly as Tim reached up and back to wrap his arm around Tony's neck.

It took a lifetime, it took seconds, before the truck was next to a jeep he'd never seen before. Parking, and killing the engine, Gibbs got out slowly. Figuring that 'hey, I've come to fuck your brains out' might be a little crude, he decided to start with the obvious. Opening the passenger side door, he pulled out the groceries. "Brought steaks, figured we could grill them."

By circumstances or planned, Gibbs didn't know for sure, but McGee stayed in front of Tony as they walked over to join him. Tim took the bag of food from his hand and passed it to Tony.

"Would you take this in, Tony?"

Tony looked at the bag, then McGee, then the case of beer under Gibbs' other arm as a silent conversation seemed to take place. Nodding, he took the bag and walked to the cabin, leaving Tim with Gibbs.

McGee didn't pull any punches. "The beer stays locked in your truck."

"Why?"

"Tony doesn't need the temptation while we're sorting everything out."

If Gibbs was expecting a simple romp, he was finding that he was wrong. "What are you, his mother? Tony's a big boy."

Tim didn't back down, just stood between Gibbs and everything else. "I know he is."

"He's not an alcoholic."

"I know." McGee looked more serious than Gibbs remembered ever seeing before.

"Tim?"

"He's not an alcoholic, but he's been using the booze as a crutch and that can be a really short road.". Tim let some of his worry show through. "Especially when he's still struggling with his guilt over Director Shepard."

"Jenny made her own choices, it wasn't Tony's fault – never was."

"Maybe it's about time you told him that."

Gibbs nodded slowly. "Okay, I can do that. You and I need to talk about what happened that night, too."

"Inside, in front of Tony. We don't have secrets between us, not about the important stuff." Tim turned and walked back to the cabin, leaving Gibbs to make his final decision.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony looked up when Tim came in, alone, but through the window he could see Gibbs pacing back and forth. "Problem?"

"I don't know, find out in a minute." Tim left the door open behind him and they both watched as Gibbs visibly squared his shoulders and walked up to the porch. In spite of everything else going on, they were both honestly curious about what the older man would think of the place

"Hey, Boss." Speaking to Gibbs for the first time since his arrival, Tony watched as sharp blue eyes took in every detail.

Gibbs looked suitable surprised and impressed. "Nice place, Tony. How'd you find it?"

"It's Tim's, he owns it."

Surprised, Gibbs looked closer at McGee. "Yours?"

-NCIS-

When he'd been told by Tony that they had a cabin they were going to, Gibbs had assumed it was someplace they'd rented for the weekend. Now, walking up to the obviously hand built, A-frame log cabin, he wasn't so sure. Renters weren't responsible for maintenance and they looked too settled in and comfortable to be new to the place.

Curious now, he walked through the open door and looked around as the boys watched him closely. For the rustic simplicity of the outside, the inside was much nicer than he expected. Open and inviting, he'd stepped into one large room. The right side held a remarkably modern kitchen, despite the lodge style cabinets that filled the right wall and part of the main wall in front of him A doorway broke the main wall in half, with the rest of the wall being taken up with an impressive stone fireplace. The fireplace was two-sided as he could see the edge of a bed past the pile of logs. Gibbs asked about the place and was surprised by the answer.

"Yours?"

"Yeah, I inherited it from an uncle."

Tony wanted Gibbs to know more, needed him to see how much Tim was capable of. "Yeah, but it didn't exactly look like this when you got it."

When Tim just shrugged, Tony kept talking. "The first time we came out here, there was a den of opossum living in the fireplace, the only way to get water was to use a hand pump and it was a long walk to the outhouse."

Tim had to smile at the memories. "Tony wasn't thrilled with the hornet nest in the outhouse."

"No, I wasn't. Told him we had to have indoor plumbing if I was ever going to come out here with him again."

"Yep, so the next week I got the permits and hired someone to come out and install a septic tank."

Of all of Tim's traits, his modesty about things like this was Tony's least favorite. Especially in contrast to his pride in his work abilities. "That's all he hired out. Everything else he did himself, I just helped with the grunt labor. He took the second bedroom and turned it into a hallway and a bathroom – oh, and a closet. Can't forget about the closet." He and Tim were both chuckling and Gibbs knew there had to be a story behind that.

The crossed arms and raised eyebrow got Tim talking as he helped Tony put the food away. "Tony didn't actually ask me to build a closet, but every time we were out here working, he'd hang his clothes in the doorway. Eventually, I got the hint."

That got a rare smile from the older man. "Yeah, I would have, too." Looking around, he shook his head in amazement. "Damn, McGee, I did not have a clue you knew how to do all this."

"I didn't." Tim shrugged as he pulled a couple of water bottles out of the refrigerator. "I'd study and research during the week and print out all the instructions I could find to bring with me."

Gibbs took the offered water bottle, but didn't step back. "I would have helped. Why didn't you ask?"

Tim looked vulnerable for a moment and Gibbs worried that he'd crossed some invisible boundary. Eventually, the younger man shrugged and hitched one hip up on the heavy pine table that served as both an eating and work surface for the kitchen. "I'm the one that inherited the place because nobody else in the family wanted it. They all thought it was funny that poor, geeky Tim got stuck with Uncle Mac's private dump."

"You wanted to prove it to them that you could turn it into something."

Another shrug. "Prove it to myself, more than anything. After we got actual running water in the house, I bought a generator for the water pump and a small water heater since cold showers are no fun. Then when one of the neighbors decided to run power to his place, Tony suggested we do it at the same time, so it wasn't that expensive. Being able to have a refrigerator is pretty nice and redoing the kitchen kept me busy while Tony was – away."

Gibbs walked around the kitchen, running his hands over the cabinets and new countertops. "Did a real good job, Tim. A real good job."

"Thanks, Boss."

Eventually there was nothing else to put away and Gibbs followed Tony and Tim to the sitting area at the other end of the room. There was a loveseat and two chairs grouped in front of the fireplace and when the two younger men sat side by side on the small sofa, Gibbs perched on the coffee table to be closer. Taking a deep breath, he jumped right in.

"Tim, did you have anyone you could go to, after... after I hurt you? Anyone you could confide in?" Ever since he'd remembered what had happened, he'd been looking at Ducky and Vance, waiting, almost hoping, to see the condemnation in their eyes.

"I went to a clinic, told them it was a consensual scene that got a little rough, but I didn't tell anyone until Tony was back."

Gibbs locked onto the first words Tim had said. "I hurt you bad enough that you needed medical attention?"

Tim hated to see the look of self-loathing on Gibbs' face. "I just wanted to make sure there wasn't enough scaring to show up on my next physical. I didn't know how easily it would heal because..."

"Because you were a virgin and I took that from you. Tim, you should have had me arrested."

"For what? For being sick? You were hallucinating, Boss. I knew that if you were in your right mind, you'd sooner cut off your own arm than hurt me like that. So I cleaned up everything, I didn't tell Ducky, and when I left the clinic, I burned every piece of possible evidence."

"Then what, just tried to forget it?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Figured out it wasn't possible to drink enough to forget, so I just locked it all away. Then Tony came home and expected us to pick up right where we left off and the minute he touched me like that, I froze."

Now ashamed of his reaction, Tony picked up the narration, shaking his head in sorrow and fully expecting a headslap. "When he flinched, I just lost it on him, accused him of cheating on me. I took off and just left him standing there with this devastated look on his face while I went to a bar to get plastered and pick somebody up, preferably blonde with big boobs."

"Ah, hell, Tony." Gibbs was sickened to see how much damaged he'd caused to two men he cared so much about.

Tim reached out and took Tony's hand. "Deep down, you really weren't."

"I..."

"Tony, if you were really trying to pick up a woman, why'd you go to our favorite gay bar?" Tim gave him a knowing look and turned back to Gibbs. "He got himself plastered and the bartender called me to get him home and sort it out."

"I asked him why he'd done it, and he told me he wasn't sure he'd had a choice." Tony shook his head and gave a bitter laugh. "Yeah, finding out that your boyfriend was raped while you were deployed, that'll sober you up in a hurry."

Hearing the "r" word, Gibbs didn't say anything, just concentrated on not losing the food he'd eaten that morning. Not looking anywhere but at Tim's face, Tony continued. "I finally got him to tell me everything, right down to you calling out my name."

Now, Gibbs had to know. "Why am I here? Anyone can see just how much you love Tim, why would you want me anywhere near him?"

"Because it's not so simple, Boss." Tony shifted around before taking a deep breath and plunging in. "I'll admit that I was mad. Those first few days, I was so ready to take a swing at you."

"Wish you had."

"No, see..." Shifting around again, Tony looked at Tim, who gave him an encouraging nod. "Okay, the first time Tim and I had sex it was right after Kate died. We were both hurting and depressed and I'd had too much to drink so Tim drove me home and we started arguing and yelling at each other and the next thing you know we're kissing like there's no tomorrow and I've got my hand down his pants. The next morning we pretended it never happened and swore that it never would happen again."

"But obviously it did. So what happened?"

"You got blown up and then you left." Tony looked up, the grief from those memories still etched on his face. "I got drunk – again – and he took me home – again – but this time when things got physical, I was mad because he wasn't you and I pushed him away."

Tim started speaking softly then, his gaze on his and Tony's entwined hands. "I wouldn't let go of Tony. You were gone and I couldn't lose him, too. And I admitted it to him." Tim finally looked up at Tony and smiled. "I told him that I knew he was in love with you and that I was, too. But you were gone and all we had left was each other."

For some reason the memory seemed to amuse McGee, while Tony's ears turned slightly red. Gibbs couldn't figure out what was going on. "So, what happened then?"

"Well," Tim's smile grew wider and Tony's ears got redder. "Tony admitted it, too, and pulled me closer, told me that he couldn't lose both of us either, but you were already gone so I was stuck with him. Then he kissed me and fell asleep on my shoulder."

Gibbs had just taken a drink of water and almost choked on it. "He fell asleep?"

"Yep."

"On you."

More than Tony's ears were red now. "You know, I am right here." Seeing Tim relaxing and chuckling over the memory, Tony had to chuckle, too, before becoming serious again. "Yeah, well, the next morning we were still all wrapped up together. There we were, two bottoms, one that was still a virgin. We didn't really have a clue how to make it work, just knew that we had to hang onto each other. At first, our sex life consisted of hand jobs, blow jobs and dirty stories about you taking turns fucking us. Eventually we built it into a pretty solid relationship and we started talking about taking that last step. We were packed and ready to come out here for a weekend of sex and I was going to show Tim how good it could be. Then Jenny called Ziva and I into her office and told us that we were going with her to LA."

"And your world fell apart."

Tony nodded at Gibbs' soft words. "Yeah, and by the time the dust settled, I was sitting on an aircraft carrier out on the Atlantic and Tim was alone in Cybercrimes."

Taking a deep breath, he continued, knowing that Tim would never admit his own difficulties and wanting Gibbs to know it all. "There were rumors about there being more to the Director's death than what was officially announced and the first thing Vance did was break apart out team. I was out at sea, Ziva was back in Israel, there's not another agent aboard the Yard that would challenge you, but..."

Startled at how much Tony knew, Tim's eyes flew up to meet his and Tony squeezed his hand as he explained. "You were right, Ducky would have gone to Vance, but Jimmy babbles when he's nervous. All I had to do was to stare at him for about thirty seconds and he buckled."

Gibbs sucked in a breath. He hadn't been expecting that one. "You were targeted at the Agency." When Tim nodded, Gibbs reviewed the few clues he'd been given and the even fewer things he knew about McGee's time in the sub-basement.

Not going to Ducky, but needing to go to Jimmy suggested an injury and the only injury he'd heard about was... "You didn't just trip on the stairs that first week, did you?"

Tim's shoulders sagged as he shook his head. "Something caught my ankle."

"Something or someone?"

It took a moment for Tim to answer as he stared at the floor. "I felt a hand, but I can't prove it."

"Why didn't you come to me?" Gibbs tenderly brushed his hand over Tim's head as he glanced over at Tony, but Tony was only looking at Tim.

With Gibbs' hand resting on Tim's neck, Tony rubbed his fingers across Tim's knuckles. "It should have been investigated, Timmy, at least the security tapes."

Tim finally looked up at both of them and shrugged. "There's no camera on that part of the stairs. I spent weeks going through every tape of that morning and there was just no proof. Too many people used the back stairs. I knew you'd believe me, but you were stuck with the three stooges and I couldn't just dump my problems on you."

Gibbs felt doubly guilty. "I knew how miserable Tony was, but I should have paid more attention to you."

"Why didn't you?" Despite their plans for the weekend, Tony wasn't going to let it progress until this was settled. "He was right there."

"Exactly." Gibbs pursed his lips as he stared over them and out the window. "I couldn't trust myself with just one of you. It was easier with you, Tony, because we had defined roles, but I'd never established boundaries like that with McGee. He was my unknown."

"But that night, you thought I was Tony." Tim chewed his lip, watching Gibbs, wanting desperately to understand.

Gibbs struggled with his answer, not because he didn't have one, but because opening up about something so personal was foreign to him. "In my head that night, it was everyone I've ever loved, including the both of you. I just couldn't admit it to myself, not for the longest time, and then when I realized what I'd done..."

Tony was pretty sure what Gibbs was feeling, but he waited, wanting Tim to hear it directly. Gibbs' mouth worked several times before the words came out.

"I felt so guilty." Gibbs' hand hovered over Tim's head as if he were ashamed to even touch him now. "In the helicopter, just before we landed, I was aware enough that I noticed a smudge of blood on the blanket. At first I just assumed that it was mine. Then I started having these horrific nightmares that I was beating you and tearing your clothes off and... and then I realized..."

Gibbs made a choking sound and started to pull away, but Tim lunged forward and grabbed his arm, holding him. "That's not the way it happened. You didn't hit me, you didn't fight me at all. You tore my boxers, that was it." Knowing it was necessary, Tim took a deep breath and started filling in the blanks for Gibbs.

"You were cold, dangerously cold, soaked all the way through and practically unconscious. I can't tell you how many times I almost dropped you getting back inside. The storm had all the choppers grounded, and the road was under water, so we were on our own. I undressed you and dried you off, got you into one of the cots, but you needed more than room temperature blankets to get you warm."

Shared body heat, it was a basic of first aid and Gibbs nodded his understanding. Tim glanced over at Tony, taking in his support, before continuing. "I stripped down to my boxers and climbed into the bed with you, wrapped my arms around you. Your skin was so cold, it almost took my breath away. Once I finally got you warm, you immediately started running a fever. You were dreaming, hallucinating maybe, and thought I was Shannon., telling her how much you'd missed her. You started touching me and I figured that as soon as you felt no boobs and the wrong plumbing, you'd stop."

"But I didn't."

"'No more teasing', that's what you said. I tried to get away, but you held on and rolled me under you. I should have fought harder, but I didn't want to hurt you."

"That's when I raped you?"

"That's when we had intercourse that wasn't fully consensual." When Gibbs gave him the eyebrow, Tim shook his head. "I'm a trained federal agent, trained by you. I made the decision not to use any of that training to break free. You were sick and I couldn't hurt you. I just couldn't."

Gibbs wondered how he would have reacted if McGee had fought back, and decided he didn't want to know. "Not usually in my vocabulary, but this time it needs to be said. I'm sorry, Tim. You're right, if I'd have been in my right mind I would have never hurt you, but I wasn't and I did. Even before that, I let you down. I was too busy being mad at Vance to pay attention to what was going on beyond my cubicle. You should have never had to face the rumors on your own. You should have never felt like you couldn't come to me. My failure, not yours."

He reached out and cupped both Tim's and Tony's cheeks with his hands. "What I've wanted was right in front of me and I was so busy refusing to acknowledge it, that I almost lost the two of you forever."

After a moment, he pulled back some, letting his hands slide down to rest on their knees. "You guys have built yourself quite a life together, are you sure you still want to try and fit me into that?"

"Yeah." Tony smiled at Tim before turning back to Gibbs as the spokesman of the pair. "We're sure, but we've talked about it and 24-7 probably won't cut it for any of us. I mean, you know, you've got to have your woodworking time and Timmy here is allergic to sawdust."

Gibbs had to smile. "Yeah, there is that."

"But, we'd like you to join us here at the cabin once in a while. When one of us needs the extra support or just to blow off steam." Tony glanced over at Tim before laying down the ground rules they'd decided on. "It would always be the three of us, but any one of us can ask for a night or a weekend together, and that includes you, Gibbs."

Thinking about the rules, Gibbs slowly nodded. That he'd never interfere with their relationship by trying to sneak off with just one of them was a given. Asking the boys to indulge him was something he wasn't ready to wrap his head around yet, but if they asked, he'd do anything for them.

Feeling like an enormous weight was off his shoulders, Tony looked to Tim, still leaving the final decision to him. Seeing the silent question, Tim made a decision as their frank discussion had been necessary, but not exactly a good lead-in to a seduction. "Probably be a good time to decompress for a little bit and we've only got a few hours of daylight left."

Tony totally understood. "Chores?"

"Chores."

Gibbs looked at both of them. "Chores?"

"Yep. Tim bought me a new tire for my doohickey." They laughed as the eyebrow went up.


	10. Chapter 10

a/n - I've been sitting on a new chapter of this for days, so I'm posting a chapter a day until I catch up and can post the new one. This is in addition to 2 or 3 new chapters of Laboring. You ready? Story note at the bottom.

* * *

Curious as hell, Gibbs watched as the two men dug out their tools. The caulking gun was pretty standard, but then Tony pulled a large, handmade device out from under the deck. It was round, with an unmounted tire laying flat on it. There was a long foot pedal that was attached to ropes and a counter weight. "That's your doohickey?"

"Yep, Tim built it for me." With his head in the lean-to, pulling out the ax, Tony didn't notice the expression on Gibbs' face as he walked around the unknown tool.

Gibbs was vaguely aware of McGee grinning from where he sat on the porch, loading a tube of caulk into the dispenser, and Tony sounded quite pleased with his gift from the younger man. Curious, Gibbs cautiously stepped on the pedal and watched as the counterweight moved and the tire and its base rotated. It would take multiple compressions on the pedal for the tire to make a complete revolution, but Gibbs still didn't know what it was designed for. He was just getting ready to ask when Tony emerged from the lean-to with the strangest wood ax Gibbs had ever seen. "What the heck is that?"

While Gibbs had been playing with Tony's pride and joy, Tim had quietly picked up a medium sized log from the wood stack and now set it inside the tire. Grinning, Tony went to work, setting up a rhythm of swinging the ax and pressing on the foot pedal to rotate the log as he chopped. In what seemed to be only a matter of seconds, the entire log was cut into even pieces, ready for the fireplace.

Not saying a word, Gibbs held his hand out and with a knowing grin, Tony handed him the ax before turning his attention to the wood that was ready to be stacked. Gibbs looked at the design carefully before hefting it in his hands. Different from any chopping tool he'd ever seen, the blade was offset from the handle and continued up past the handle into what looked like a wide, flat hook.

Tony placed another log in the holder and when he saw the look on Gibbs' face, stepped back to let the older man try his hand at handling the unusual ax.

Gibbs tried a few practice swings as Tony unloaded the holder. Despite the odd shape, or because of it, it swung easily. When he saw Tony drop another log in to be chopped, Gibbs stepped closer, not relinquishing his prize. Tony didn't seem too surprised and just grinned as he stepped back. At the first hit, Gibbs was surprised because it rolled in his hands as the blade made contact, but as it did, the hook helped wedge the chopped section away from the rest of the log while the tire kept the pieces in place. Realizing now what the 'doohickey' was for, Gibbs stepped on the pedal to rotate the log as he continued to chop. Not having to pry the pieces apart or chase the ones that flew made the process incredibly fast and Gibbs quickly found his rhythm. The first log he chopped with the strange set up wasn't as fast as Tony had chopped, but Gibbs was grinning from ear to ear by the time he was done.

From where he was caulking the window frame on that side of the house, Tim laughed. "Tony, I think we've got Gibbs' Christmas present figured out."

Gibbs' grin grew even wider. "With a doohickey, right? Come on, DiNozzo, give me another log."

The two men switched off every couple of logs, taking turns chopping and lugging. Before Tim was halfway finished with the caulking, they'd managed to chop up the entire stack of logs. They had been chopping too fast to properly stack the pieces, so they started on that, catching their breath. Tim was nearby, so Gibbs used the opportunity to speak to Tony about what Tim had talked to him about earlier.

"Do you miss the beer?"

Tony knew exactly what Gibbs was referring to. "Nah, I'd miss him a hell of a lot more. Besides, he was right, I was leaning on it too much."

Gibbs gave a slow nod. Even if they never actually made it into bed, he'd learned more about his boys in that one day than in all the years they'd worked together. "Not all he was right about. I should have told you before, should have told you right up front."

Tony stilled as he gave Gibbs his full attention. Knowing how important this was, Gibbs pushed on. "What happened to Jenny wasn't your fault. I knew it right from the get-go, I was just too damned pissed at her for pulling such a stupid stunt. I couldn't see past that for a long time. She was sick, Tony, dying, and she had to do it on her terms. Nothing you could have done to stop that."

"Sick? She was sick?" Tony turned and sat down hard on the edge of the deck.

Gibbs thought back to another important woman in his life and how she'd died. "My mom got sick when I was a kid, little older than you were when you lost your mom. When she knew that she was terminal, she took her own life – wanted to die before she became a burden, so that we'd remember her healthy and strong."

Tony nodded, then shrugged. "My mom was sick for a long time before she died. I guess that's the way I remember her, but she made sure that we had a lot of good memories before the end. The truth is, there's no easy answer, is there, Boss?"

"Nope." Gibbs sat down next to Tony, pausing for a moment as Tim sat on Tony's other side. "That's the kind of decision no one else can make for you and the ones left behind just have to make their own peace with it."

Tim leaned against Tony, wrapping his fingers around Tony's, but he was looking at both of them. Gibbs had one hand on Tony's shoulder and reached with his other for Tim's free hand as they listened to Tim's explanation. "It's kind of like when Vance split us up. It had nothing to do with any of us, it was part of a bigger picture that we knew nothing about at first. It hurt all of us, but we were never the real targets."

Tony thought about it for a moment. "Would have been easier to sit on that aircraft carrier all those months if I'd known the real reason."

"Yeah." Tim had his own confession. "I'd have probably been more willing to report what was happening at the Yard if I'd know earlier. At least, I'd have gone to Gibbs."

They sat there for a long while before the breeze changed direction, bringing cooler air from off the creek. Getting hungry, Tony made a decision for the group. "Now that the work is all done, what do you say we pack a quick picnic and walk down to the creek?"

-NCIS-

Sandwiches, chips, apples and a few water bottles were thrown into a bag and the three of them set off down the faint path. Nothing had been scraped or leveled, but the foot traffic was enough to show Gibbs the way. "How often do you come out here?"

Tim answered for the pair. "We were coming out here every time we had a couple of days off. While I was in Cybercrimes, I was out here pretty much every weekend, finished the kitchen the weekend before I got moved back upstairs."

"Now I know who to call when I need a hand around my place." Gibbs clapped them both on the back, looking around as they led him toward the creek. As they walked, Tony filled him in on the property lines and what they had there. The property didn't have enough acreage to make them totally isolated, but it felt that way.

Arriving at the creek, Gibbs nodded in appreciation. It probably didn't have many fish year round, but it would be worth bringing a pole with him the next time he was here. The water meandered, a beaver dam slowing it down and leaving a section deep enough to at least splash around in, if not swim. The land near the creek had a stair-step feel to it, left behind as the creek changed paths over hundreds of years, and a large tree sat well above the water. He could imagine spending a hot afternoon lazing in the shadow of that tree and since that was where Tim and Tony were headed, they'd apparently had the same thought a time or two.

Coming closer to the tree, Gibbs could see a well worn spot between two of the larger roots. As Tony spread a blanket out and Tim opened the food, Gibbs spotted some evidence on the underside of a few leaves. "Seen some action here?"

Tony grinned and waggled his eyebrows. "You know what one of the best things is about having a geek for a lover?" He grinned even wider and didn't wait for Gibbs to figure it out. "He researches _everything_."

It took Gibbs a few seconds to figure out what Tony meant. "He's... creative?"

"You have no idea."

Tim blushed slightly, but he had a rather smug look on his face as he handed Tony a water bottle and Gibbs found his body stirring at the heated looks between the two younger men. "I'm looking forward to finding out." It was quite warm and Gibbs was feeling overdressed, so he tugged off his shirt before accepting a sandwich.

They ate in silence, enjoying the peaceful setting. Tossing the apple cores into the bushes for the critters and returning the rest of the trash to the bag, Gibbs found himself laying down on the blanket, with each of his boys resting on him. Running a hand up and down each of their backs, Gibbs relished the feel of their breath subtly stirring his chest hair. For the first time in longer than he'd ever admit, Gibbs found himself wanting to talk.

"I used to fantasize about this. Sometimes about you." He hugged Tony a little closer before repeating the action with Tim. "Sometimes about you."

"Did you ever fantasize about the two of us at the same time?"

"Oh, yeah."

Encouraged by the lustful look on Tony's face, Tim continued. "You thought about finding us together, watching us as we pleasured each other?"

He actually hadn't gotten too far into details, but now the picture was in his mind. "Fuck."

Tony had shifted his leg enough that he could feel the bulge growing in Gibbs' jeans. "Remember those dirty stories I told you we'd tell each other? Timmy's still writing, but under another name and I help name the characters now."

Gibbs had to spread his legs as he groaned. This was beyond his wildest dreams, laying there with Tony and Tim draped over him, his thighs pressed against both of their groins, feeling their thickening shafts against his legs while his own cock was obvious under the straining denim he wore. He let his fingers trail further down their bodies until he was able to work them under the waistbands of their cutoffs. "Tell me a story, Tim. Tell me about finding you and Tony together."

As he expected, Tim looked at Tony, gaining confidence from the expression on the other man's face. "We'd tried so hard to get your attention." Tim continued to look over at Tony, who knew exactly which story he was going to tell and smiled as he remembered.

"We got tired of waiting. You weren't supposed to be back in town so we went over to your house and snuck in. Figured if we couldn't have you, doing it on your bed would be the next best thing."

Gibbs' big head knew it was a fantasy, but his other head reported right in. "Did I come home early?"

Tim's whole face lit up with a smile as Gibbs played along, but it was Tony that answered. "Yeah, you did. Timmy was being so mean to me, Boss. We were sucking each other and he was playing with my butt plug and he'd stop sucking to tell me that it was really you fucking me."

"Yeah? Did you want me to fuck you, Tony? Did you want my cock in your ass?" Part of Gibbs couldn't believe how easily he'd fallen into the scene, while the rest of him was ready to reenact the scene right then. He compromised by moving his hand to rub Tony's cleft through his tiny cut-offs with one hand while the other started squeezing McGee's ass.

"Yeah, Boss. You buried in my ass, Tim's sweet mouth wrapped around my dick, doesn't get much better than that."

Tim picked up the story from there, shifting a little so he could look Gibbs in the eye. "He did, he sure did. I barely had to touch the plug and he was fucking himself with it. I just had to hang onto it. We were on your bed, in a 69. Tony's ass was to the door and I was under him, so I saw you leaning against the door frame." Breaking off for a moment, Tim became adventurous and pressed the palm of his hand against Gibbs' cock. Gibbs hissed and tried to press up against him, but Tim went back to the story.

"You were rubbing yourself and then you unzipped your pants and took your cock out."

Gibbs thought about putting action to word, but that would have meant letting go of them. Before he could figure it out, Tony shifted his leg again so that it was rubbing firmly against Gibbs' groin and Tim's hand slid up to start playing with one of his nipples. The dual sensation was enough to drive Gibbs wild, but not enough to get him off. Needing more, he nudged Tim along.

"Was I fisting my dick?"

"Oh, yeah, you were. The head of your cock was all wet, even your fingers were wet by the time you walked over to the bed. You let me lick your fingers clean before Tony even realized you were there. He almost came when you asked him if he was ready for the real thing."

With his eyes half closed, Gibbs could picture the whole thing. "What happened next?"

"Tony was begging you to take him and you were teasing him, taking your own sweet time. Even let me suck you clean before you rolled on a condom. When you were all ready, I pulled Tony's butt plug out and you slid right in. I had a pair of balls in each hand and I wouldn't let either of you come until Tony was absolutely babbling."

"Did we make him babble?"

"Oh, yeah." Feeling carefree in a way he'd never thought possible, Tim grinned at Tony before looking up at Gibbs who was staring at the dried semen on the overhead branch. "And now you're wondering just what I do to Tony to make him shoot that far."

Tony burst out laughing at the expression on Gibbs' face. "I think we should show the man, Probie. What do you think?"

Gibbs answered before Tim could even open his mouth. "Hell yeah."

* * *

All of these are on Youtube. I can't post the actual links, but put these into their search engine and it will pull up the right video. See you tomorrow.

The ax in slow motion:

watch?v=XBsNxfB9ZCM

or

watch?v=E9_9wmjK3j8

Tony's doohickey:

watch?v=moWh5z_-V2Q


	11. Chapter 11

Gibbs scooted back and to the side to give them room on the blanket as Tony gave him a heated look. "Take your clothes off, Jethro. Let's see how much this turns you on."

Popping the button on his jeans, Gibbs smiled. "I like hearing you boys use my given name when we're out like this." With both of them watching, Gibbs stood and took a quick glance around before kicking off his shoes and shucking his pants. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this hard while still dressed and it felt good to get rid of them. Boxers were next and he carefully watched for any sign of fear or discomfort on McGee's face. The younger man just smiled at him before straddling Tony, and then turned to watch Gibbs finish stripping.

Gibbs knew he was hung a little more than average and had certainly never had a woman complain, but this was the first time in many years he'd stripped for a male lover and the first time he'd stripped for two at the same time. Despite his own trepidation, he was anxious to see Tony and Tim totally naked and aroused.

Tim took a good long minute to look. He'd had intimate experience with how large Gibbs was, but he'd locked that memory away and looked forward to a proper introduction. Gibbs was a little thicker than Tony and uncut which was already giving him ideas.

Underneath Tim, Tony shook his head when Gibbs reached for himself. "No head start. Just lay down and enjoy the show."

Knowing that Tony was going to mostly run the show, so to speak, this weekend, Gibbs complied. Laying down on his side, he settled in for the best view.

His arms and knees supporting his weight, Tim kept a few inches between his body and Tony's, both to limit the sensations Tony was feeling and to make sure that Gibbs could see everything. He started with a simple kiss before deepening it and allowing his tongue to explore every inch of Tony's mouth. Tony started to moan and Tim drew back, eliciting a groan from both Tony and Gibbs. Pleased with himself, Tim moved down a bit to start nibbling on Tony's jaw, working his way up to his ear.

When Tim scraped his teeth along Tony's earlobe, Tony shuddered and let out a low moan that made Gibbs' balls throb. "Oh, fuck."

The two younger men shared a smile at the reaction from their watcher before Tim returned to Tony's ear and slowly worked his way down onto his neck.

Tony had hot spots, a lot of hot spots and over the years Tim had found every one. Today he sucked and licked and nibbled on all of them. By the time he worked his way down to Tony's chest he had to reach down and tug on Tony's sack to keep him from getting too close already.

Feeling like he was floating on a sea of sensations, Tony looked over at Gibbs who was panting as he watched intently every move that Tim made.

For his part, Gibbs couldn't believe how much this was turning him on. He'd never considered himself much of a voyeur in his personal life, but he'd apparently discovered a new kink. Without even realizing it, his hand started to creep over to touch himself.

"No touching, Jethro." Tim hadn't moved his head, but his smile was visible as he brushed his lips across one of Tony's nipples. Gibbs' hand snapped back to the blanket and the smile grew wider. "Just watching for now, remember? You're gonna watch me make Tony come."

While Gibbs' hands gripped the edge of the blanket, Tony was clutching the blanket directly underneath him. Usually, Tony kept his true feelings hidden under a mask, but a blind man could see the pleasure and the passion on his face right now.

If somebody had asked him a week ago, Gibbs would have thought he'd be jealous, seeing the two of them like this, seeing Tony so aroused, but having them put on his show for his benefit was pushing buttons Gibbs didn't even know he had. "You like that, don't you, Tony? Damn, it looks like he's got a sweet mouth."

Gibbs knew it wouldn't take much to get Tony talking. "Oh, yeah, so sweet. And if he ever gets onto my dick, you'll really see it."

If anything, Tony's not so subtle hint made Tim slow down even more and Tony groaned as Tim's tongue circled his navel. "Fuck, you're killing me, Tim."

"No, he's not. You're loving every minute of it, Tony." Gibbs looked smug as he slowly smiled. "You love showing off, you love showing him off."

Tony couldn't deny it. "Yeah, I do. I'd love to be showing you how good he is at sucking my... oh!" He gasped as Tim popped the button on his cut-offs and finally eased the zipper down. Not needing to be told, Tony lifted his ass to let Tim slide the fabric down his legs as his cock was freed, bouncing off his stomach to stand straight up.

Not done teasing, Tim shifted to Tony's side so he could continue to slide his shorts down his legs to toss over his shoulder. Tony spread his legs to give Tim full access, but Tim stayed near his feet, ignoring the obvious hint. Instead, he picked up Tony's right foot and sucked on the hollow under his ankle bone.

"Oh, fuck." Tony's back arched as Tim repeated the action on his left. The last time Tim had done this, Tony had come before Tim made it up past his knees. This time, Tim moved slow enough to not push him over the edge.

Next to them, Gibbs' hands were starting to cramp and he thought he might actually tear a few holes in the blanket before they were done. He was also beginning to think that he might just climax without anything ever touching his dick. Now, Tim had rolled Tony's knees up and out, fully exposing the other man to Gibbs as Tim sucked and licked his way up. Watching so intently, Gibbs almost missed it when Tim spoke to him.

"Stand behind me, Jethro."

Gibbs didn't have a clue as to why Tim wanted that, but he did as he was told. The view was even better from this angle, looking directly down at Tony as Tim worked him over. Gibbs licked his lips as he watched Tim's lips explore every inch of Tony's inner thighs. "Beautiful, so beautiful."

"Isn't he, Jethro?" Although they'd made more progress than he'd hoped for already, Tony continued to make sure Tim knew how desirable Gibbs found him. "You imagining what it will be like to have his mouth on your skin?"

"Oh, yeah."

Tony would have liked to wind Gibbs up a little bit more, but then Tim's mouth reached his balls and all of Tony's verbal skills were gone. Gibbs' mind, however, was filling in all the blanks. Imagining himself in Tony's spot, Tim's lips dancing over his skin. Imagining himself dropping to his knees to slide into Tim while Tim sucked Tony. Imagining being buried in Tony while Tim worked them both into a frenzy. Imagining what it would be like to be sucking either of them, what it would be like to be sucking both of them.

After a subtle tug to keep Tony from coming quite yet, Tim's mouth finally made it onto his cock, not sucking the head, but licking up and down the shaft. Beyond talking, Tony was trembling as he rode out the pleasure. Looking up, he realized that Gibbs was blocking the branch he'd decorated the last time he and Tim had had sex out here, putting their watcher directly in his line of fire. The idea of coming on Gibbs, combined by the unexpected tongue rasping across his hole was enough to send him over the edge.

Gibbs could tell he was on the edge of hyperventilating, but he couldn't stop himself as he watched Tim's mouth touching Tony's heavy sex. Feeling more like a randy teenager than a man closing in on mandatory retirement, his one goal had become to not climax before DiNozzo. It was probably only the pain from his fingers digging into his thighs that kept him from coming right then and there, but then Tony made eye contact with him and Tim dipped his head down to swipe his tongue around Tony's most intimate place.

"Fuck." For the first time since he was fifteen years old and watched Mary Jo Harper playing with herself behind her father's barn, Leroy Jethro Gibbs climaxed without ever having his dick or balls touched. As Tony's climax hit Tim's face and then Gibbs' while Gibbs' own emissions left a streak across Tim's back and neck to splatter on Tony's belly. As he dropped to his knees, he realized that voyeurism had really been his kink all along.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony was pretty sure he'd passed out for a moment, because the next thing he was fully aware of was licking the side of Tim's face. It was stronger, more bitter than either of them and he knew who it belonged to. The man in question was tangled up with them, cleaning up after Tony on the other side of Tim's face. Eventually, the licking turned into kissing and their movements slowed in pace as they began to explore each other.

"Oh, yeah, that was so good, babe, so good." Tony smiled, watching Tim enjoying the dual sensations of both men touching him. "Now it's going to be your turn. As soon as our legs work again, we're going to get cleaned up a little and go back to the cabin for a hot shower. Then we're going to lay you out on that big bed and pleasure you. Jethro and I are going to use our fingers and our mouths and get you all loose and relaxed."

Practically purring, Tim gave a soft smile. "Gonna have you in me soon. Tonight?"

"Maybe. Not going to rush it. We've got enough firewood and food, we can spend the rest of the weekend playing." After giving Tim a smile, Tony looked over at Gibbs. "That sound good to you?"

"Yeah, it does."

Gibbs dunked his shirt in the creek for a make-shift washcloth and they washed off as best they could – at least enough that they wouldn't attract insects as they walked back to the cabin. Tony smiled as he shoved his shorts into the backpack and prepared to walk back naked except for his shoes. Challenge accepted, Gibbs slipped his shoes back on and rolled the rest of his clothes up to fit in the bag also.

Tim had a bashful expression on his face, but much to Gibbs' surprise, he unbuttoned his shorts and let them drop, too. Gibbs stood in front of Tim and Tony, touching each of them on the chest and letting his hands trail down to stop just short of the prize. "Sometime this weekend, I want both of these in my mouth."

"I think we can arrange that." Already stirring back to life, Tony grinned at Tim, who was still mostly hard.

Tim added his shorts to the pack along with Gibbs' clothes and Tony swung it onto his shoulder. Gibbs wrapped one arm around each of their waists and the three of them walked back to the cabin. Once inside, Tony dropped the pack on the floor and headed to the bedroom, forgetting the promised shower, but Tim turned them toward the bathroom.

"You're not climbing into bed with leaves stuck on your ass, DiNozzo."

Gibbs peeled a small leaf off of Tony and held it out. "Good point."

Laughing, they brushed off the larger chunks before getting into the shower. It was a tight squeeze, but with Tony and Tim each in a corner, they made it.

It starts out a simple job, get clean, get out, but as hands slid over wet, soapy skin, things changed. Mindful of the water usage, Tony turns the shower down to a trickle, just enough to keep them slick, before giving a nod to Gibbs. With soapy hands, Tony started to massage Tim, and Gibbs joined in, turning the youngest man into a puddle of goo.

Eventually the massage turned sensual and Tony slid his fingers into Tim's cleft while Jethro pinched and rolled his nipples and the three of them slowly traded kisses. When Tim started pushing back against Tony's fingers, Tony decided it was time to move out of the bathroom. "Need the right lube, time to get horizontal."

They dried each other as they moved to the bedroom, Gibbs taking extra time to gently stroke the towel over Tim's erect cock and down around his balls before moving on to Tony's. When they finally reached the bed, they tumbled onto it, Tony rolling Tim into the middle. "You ready for us, Timmy?"

"Yes." It was almost a hiss and Tony remembered how satisfying the trip to the creek had been for him and for Gibbs. Tim was on his back and Tony lifted one of Tim's legs to drape over himself while Gibbs did the same on the other side, spreading Tim wide. "Oh, yes."

"Yeah? You want this, don't you?" Tony bend down and gave Tim a lingering kiss, pleased that when it ended, Tim automatically turned to Gibbs for a kiss. Gibbs smiled and gave him the requested kiss and Tony used the distraction to pull the lube out of the nightstand. Supporting himself on one elbow only gave him one arm to work with, so, after coating Gibbs' fingers with the lube, he poured a puddle onto Tim's belly before scooping it up onto his fingers.

Gibbs let Tony start, watching as he slowly worked one finger inside. Once Tony was buried to his second knuckle, Gibbs started gently stroking the sensitive skin between the back of Tim's balls and his hole. He was still worried, but one look at the expression on Tim's face helped him relax and concentrate on the other man's pleasure.

Tony had a plan to give his lover as much pleasure and as little pain as possible for their first time. Jethro's fingers were much thicker than his, so they were going to take turns. First one of his fingers, then one of Jethro's thicker fingers, which was about the size of one and a half of Tony's. That would make it less of a jump to two of Tony's fingers. By the time they'd worked their way up to three of Jethro's fingers in Tim's ass, he'd be more than ready to take Tony's cock with little discomfort.

Still aroused from their earlier activities, Tim let the sensations take him away. He could feel Tony's finger deep inside him, stroking back and forth before pulling out. When a finger returned, it was bigger and Tim opened his eyes. Gibbs was watching him carefully, so Tim smiled and rocked on the finger in his ass, encouraging the men to continue. Tony kissed the tip of Tim's cock before sliding his mouth down to suck on one of his balls.

When the ring around his finger seemed to loosen, Gibbs eased out and Tony slid two fingers inside Tim. "You like that? You like Jethro and I taking turns like this?"

"Yes, so good. Gonna have you in me tonight and Jethro tomorrow."

Gibbs bent down and brushed his lips across Tim's belly. "Only if you're ready, we've got all the time in the world. I won't hurt you, can't hurt you again." He shifted enough to lay his cheek on Tim's stomach so that he could lick at his cock as it bounced with every stroke of Tony's fingers.

Tony twisted his fingers enough to rub across Tim's prostate, grinning at the howl he got in response. "Yeah, you like that. How do you want it for our first time? Do you want to be on your hands and knees, or on you side?"

"No. Like this – on my back so I can wrap my legs around you and we can kiss and share Jethro's cock." To prove his point, Tim rolled his hips up to expose himself even more. Tony hissed as a bolt of desire went through him.

"Damn, keep that up and I won't last." Tony took a few deep breaths before nodding to Gibbs. The change over took place and Tony tugged on his sack a few times to cool himself off as he watched Gibbs' fingers slide in and out of Tim's ass.

This time there was a little more burn, but after a few strokes, Tim started thrusting up to meet him. Gibbs alternated between stretching and rubbing against that bundle of nerves, watching as Tim panted and ground against his hand.

"So beautiful, can't wait to watch Tony slide inside you." It was time to switch again, their fingers sliding against each other in passing. Tony could feel the added tightness with three fingers and he carefully worked them in, inch by inch, until he was buried in all the way. He held his hand still, giving Tim time to adjust, until Tim started moving. Then Tony twisted his fingers around, rubbing across his target.

Tim shuddered, wanting to slam up against the hand so expertly working his ass. "Keep that up and I'm going to come before you even touch me with your cock."

"I want you to come. Want you all relaxed and loose when I take you. Want to watch you get hard again just from my cock fucking your ass." They'd been at it for a while and Tony was almost as close to a climax as Tim was. He leaned close, dividing his attention between McGee and Gibbs. "I'm going to pull my fingers out in just a minute and then Jethro is going to have his fingers inside you. When you're ready, he's going to finger-fuck you and suck on your cock. After you show him that you're the best tasting thing he's ever had, he's going to take his fingers out and I'm going to take you nice and slow until you're hard again and begging me to fuck you. Then I'm going to give you everything I've got and we're going to share Jethro's dick, just like you want. How's that sound?"

"Oh, yeah."

Tony continued to play with him until Tim was shaking, then he pulled out. "Make him scream for me, Jethro."

Gibbs had to spread his legs as he knelt on the bed to keep from rubbing his dick on himself. Even at that, every time he moved, his dick bounced against his stomach. Knowing how important this moment was for the future of the three of them, Gibbs flicked the head and tugged on his balls before running his lubed hand up Tim's leg to rub circles at his entrance.

As they'd been doing all evening, Gibbs pushed until his fingers were in as far as they could reach, then waited for Tim to adjust. However, this time, as he waited, he bent down and brushed his nose against Tim's sack before sucking one of Tim's balls into his mouth.

"Yes." Tim arched his back as he groaned before turning to look at Tony, his heated expression almost making the other man climax.

Tony bit back his own moan as he watched Gibbs playing with Tim's body, taking his time as he drew him closer to their goal. He fumbled around for a condom and rolled it into place as Gibbs slid Tim's cock into his mouth and twisted his fingers around in his ass. Tim let out a curse and Tony grinned, urging Gibbs on. "That's it, Jethro, work his sweet ass, get him ready for me."

Gibbs made a garbled sound around the throbbing flesh in his mouth. It might have been 'fuck' or it might have been 'dumb luck', but Tony wasn't really sure. All that he knew was that this had to be the hottest thing he'd ever seen and then Tim was coming with a shout.

Feeling the muscles rippling around his fingers just as his mouth was filled was something that Gibbs wouldn't forget and the twin sensation almost tipped him over the edge, too. He pulled off of Tim's cock and slowly withdrew his fingers. Gibbs' fingers were replaced with Tony's sheathed cock and Tony smiled down at Tim.

"Do you feel that, babe? I'm inside you."

It was such an intimate moment for the two men that Gibbs started to move back to give them privacy. He discovered that Tim was holding his hand and then Tony tugged him close for a kiss as Tim's body adjusted to the feel of Tony deep inside him. They shared Tim's essence, passing it back and forth as Tim watched with a heated expression.

Eventually Tony pulled back from Gibbs. "Tastes good, doesn't he?"

"Sure does." Gibbs used his thumb to catch a drop on his chin and lapped it up before sitting back on his heels to watch them. Tony's balls were touching Tim's ass, but he ground a little harder against him.

"You ready for this?"

Tim wiggled just enough to make his point in return. "Take me, Tony. Tomorrow when I'm sucking Jethro, I want to still feel you."

"Yeah?" Tony started moving in short strokes. "Damn, I like the sound of that."

"Gonna like the look of it, too, aren't you? Going to like licking his come off of my face?"

"Fuck." Tony froze, knowing that if he moved right then, he'd be done.

Gibbs started laughing, a deep, joyful laugh like they'd never heard before. "Damn, DiNozzo, you were right about that mouth of his. Tempted to send one of you out of town on a case just for the phone sex."

"Video." They both turned and looked down at McGee who gave them a wicked grin and thrust up against Tony. "I want to watch the two of you come just from listening to me. Watch both of you shoot all over the screen."

"Jethro, put that dick of yours in his mouth. Otherwise..."

Laughing again, Gibbs knee-walked up the bed until he was in position and fed Tim his cock. "One of our weekends together, you and I are going to teach Tony some stamina, Tim."

"Hey." Tony was going to complain about them ganging up on him and then he thought about all the ways they could gang up on him and let out a low groan. "Oh, fuck." Giving in to the inevitable, he started pistoning in and out of Tim as he leaned down and joined Tim on Gibbs' cock.

They found their rhythm and, as Tony had predicted, Tim hardened again quickly. Gibbs groaned as the two sets of lips surrounded the shaft of his cock as he slid it back and forth. He clamped down on his own desire, determined to make it last and he ordered Tony to do the same. "Don't come, Tony. You can't come until Tim comes again. That's it, give it to him good."

Following orders, Tony picked up his speed and changed his angle enough that the head of his cock was dragging across Tim's prostate with every stroke. Tim howled, which shot straight through Gibbs' cock, and rolled his hips even higher up, which gave Tony an even deeper stroke.

With their bodies curled up tightly like that, they were much more compact and Gibbs realized that he could reach Tony's ass from where he was. That was good, because no matter how interested he was in getting his fingers on Tony's hole, he wasn't moving his cock from their mouths. He didn't know exactly what they were doing, but he could feel the vibration from Tim's mouth all the way down into his balls and what Tony was doing to the head was making him see stars.

It was a bit of a stretch, but Gibbs was circling Tony's hole with his index finger when Tim started keening. Just a few more strokes and he came with a shout, pulling Tony, and then Gibbs, over with him.

-NCIS-

"Damn." Gibbs rolled onto his back as he tried to catch his breath. Next to him, Tim was laying still, licking his lips. Tony was on Tim's other side, watching Gibbs.

"Any regrets?"

Gibbs ran his fingers through the puddles on Tim's belly and licked them clean. "Just all the time we wasted, but can't do anything about that."

"Oh, I don't know." Tim smiled, but didn't open his eyes. "Trying to catch up on all that time might be fun."

"Or kill us." Even as he said it, Gibbs decided that would be a pretty good way to go.

"Hell of a way to go." Tony's grin practically admitted that he knew Gibbs had been thinking pretty much the exact same words. His grin widened as he pounced on Tim, nuzzling him with his nose. "So, Timmy, are we going to get a special breakfast after this?"

"I brought ricotta cheese."

"Does that mean what I think it means?"

"Sure does."

"How about as a midnight snack?"

"Breakfast, Tony."

Gibbs didn't have a clue what one did with ricotta cheese for breakfast, but as Tony climbed off the bed for a washcloth, he found he was looking forward to finding out.


	13. Chapter 13

It was the sunlight streaming through the window that woke Gibbs, surprised that he'd slept that late. His second surprise was that he was alone in the bed. Not believing that he'd slept through both Tony and Tim getting out of bed, he listened carefully for any sign of where they were. He heard the sound of the shower, which sounded like an excellent idea and he rolled out of bed. The bathroom door was open and Tony was drying off when Gibbs arrived. He peered in, but there was no sign of McGee.

Tony grinned then started drying his hair. "Man, you slept hard. Any harder and we'd have thought you were dead. Tim's getting breakfast started."

The smell of coffee was drifting through the cabin and as Tony left, Gibbs quickly took care of business and jumped in the shower. He still couldn't believe how well he'd slept, he hadn't had a night's rest like that since... Shaking his head, he decided not to pursue that line of thought. After wrapping the towel around his waist he left the bathroom to find Tony quietly watching Tim in the kitchen.

It was a sight to see. Except for the apron, he was stark naked, the ties dangling enticingly over his butt as he bounced around the kitchen, pulling out ingredients. Gibbs was just about to suggest to Tony that they convince him to lose the apron when Tim set a cast iron skillet on the stove and poured oil in it.

Not wanting the balance of their weekend to be curtailed by a badly placed burn, Gibbs didn't say anything as he settled in next to Tony and they watched as Tim beat the ricotta cheese together with eggs, flour and assorted other powdered ingredients. Gibbs thought he recognized some nutmeg, only because he remembered seeing Ducky grate some for eggnog one year.

Tim didn't give any indication that he knew he had an audience until he was dropping the first of the dough balls in the hot oil. "If you guys want breakfast in bed, you'd better get those sheets changed."

Tony didn't hesitate and Gibbs smirked as Tim grinned over his shoulder at the two of them. Amused at the balance of power that bounced between the two men, Gibbs followed Tony to help change the bedding. Tony was just wadding up the sheets as Gibbs arrived.

"Let me put these in the hamper, then I'll grab some clean sheets." Tony walked out of the bedroom and across into the bathroom and a moment later Gibbs heard him call out. "Uh, Tim?"

Curious, Gibbs stepped into the bathroom behind him. Tony had the small linen closet in the corner of the bathroom open, but instead of the expected laundry hamper, there was a compact, stacked washer and dryer. Tim's voice drifted down the short hallway.

"Now you know which one of us usually picks up the dirty clothes around here."

Gibbs laughed as Tony blushed a bit and dropped the sheets in the washer before returning to the kitchen.

"That's been there all weekend?"

"No, Tony, I snuck it in while you were putting the canned food away."

"Funny."

"I thought it was." Gibbs sailed past him and reached for one of the freshly made donuts, only to get his hand slapped.

This time it was Tony's turn to laugh at the disgruntled expression on Gibbs' face. "They're not done until the cook says they're done."

"That's right, so stay out of them and pour the coffee if you want to be helpful."

Tony waved his hands, trying to get the conversation back on track. "Umm, washer?"

Tim fished the last batch out of the oil and started sprinkling all of them with powdered sugar. "Do you enjoy lugging dirty laundry back with us every time?"

"Well, no."

"Then why are you complaining?" Tim rolled his eyes and explained the rest. "Delivery out this far was going to be a fortune, but five appliances made it free. That almost paid for the washer and dryer."

"Five?" Looking around, Tony started counting. "Okay, washer and dryer, that's two. Fridge and stove, that's four. What's the fifth?"

Gibbs had already noticed it and was grinning. Tony followed his line of sight and realized that one of the cabinets next to the sink looked different. "A dishwasher? Really?" He walked over to take a better look and saw that he was correct, there was a small dishwasher with a front panel designed to match the kitchen cabinets. "All right."

"Looks like you've got all the comforts of home."

"Better than home. Neither one of us have laundry in our apartments. All we're missing out here is internet."

At Tony's comment, Gibbs looked over at Tim, who shrugged. "It's kinda nice to be unplugged for a change. I could get a satellite hook up, but then I'd always be checking my work email or running searches for cold cases."

"You do that from home now?" Initiative was great, but Gibbs was worried about him burning out.

"Sometimes, when I can't sleep." Taking a deep breath, Tim confessed the rest. "Pretty much every day that we have off unless we're out here."

"And that's why I try to get him out here every chance I can." Knowing that having Gibbs stress about it would stress out Tim, Tony tried to lighten the mood. "Enough sex and even McWork here can forget about the job for a few hours."

Sensing Tony's subtle hint, Gibbs dropped the subject, but made a silent promise to make sure the two men had more down time away from DC, with or without him. For now, though, he picked up two of the cups. "I believe somebody promised me breakfast in bed."

Tim grabbed the platter while Tony quickly doctored his coffee with cream and sugar before snagging a stack of napkins. Retreating to the bedroom, towels and aprons were tossed and they settled on the bed in a circle, the platter between them. Tim fed one to Tony, following it up with a kiss, before he repeated the same steps with Gibbs. Precedent set, they took turns feeding each other, kissing each other and licking each other's fingers.

Once they were finished, cups were set on the nightstand and they leaned back on the bed, Gibbs once again in the middle with his two boys draped over him and he thought about what they'd just eaten. Gibbs wasn't one for sweets, even the love of chocolate he'd once shared with his mother had been locked away along with her memory, but the little pastries were pretty good – rich without being overly sweet. He wouldn't mind having them again, especially instead of the dry muffins or sticky pastries that occasionally made their way to the squad room.

"How come I didn't know you could cook?"

Tim shrugged as he glanced at Tony, but the other man remained silent, wanting the story to come from Tim. "It's not really a hobby like it is for Ziva. When my dad was deployed, I'd get to cook with my mom or with my grandmother. I always enjoyed cooking, it was like a science experiment that you could eat. And now, well, when you both have to stay in the closet, you don't exactly get to go out like a normal couple. I don't cook every night, but that's our version of a date night."

Tony was looking so intently at Tim that Gibbs knew that there was more that hadn't been said. Thinking back over what had been said, he found a question. "You didn't help in the kitchen when your dad was stateside?"

"Umm, no." There was an abortive move to raise his hand, then Tim stilled. Before Gibbs could figure out what that meant, Tony scolded him lightly.

"No more secrets, remember?" Tim nodded before ducking his head down and Tony continued for him. "The scar on Tim's face? That's the result of the one time Tim tried to cook for his old man. He was nine."

"He hit you? That son-of-a-bitch hit you?" Gibbs felt Tony subtly squeeze his arm and forced himself to calm down. "I'm glad you feel comfortable cooking for Tony. Maybe one of these days the two of you can come over and you can cook for both of us."

Tim didn't raise his head but Gibbs could feel the smile against his chest. He decided to tease a bit to see if he could get that smile to grow. "Maybe I'll grill up some steaks and you can cook everything else and then we'll make Tony do the dishes." As he suspected, the grin grew wider as Tony sputtered out a protest, the laughter in his voice eliminating any real objection.

"Hey, you don't even have a dishwasher. At least Timmy here has a dishwasher. Hell, he even installed one out here for me."

Gibbs snorted, then resumed running his hands up and down their backs, drifting lower each time. "Too bad we can't figure out a way for you two to live together instead of maintaining separate apartments. What you pay in combined rent would get you a pretty nice place."

"It would be nice." Tony shifted slightly, spreading his legs for the wandering hand. "We've talked about it, but haven't come up with a decent cover story or a place that would actually work."

Gibbs had finally reached his first destination and was stroking across Tony's center. Next, he worked his other hand in between Tim's ass cheeks. "Tender?"

"No, but I know I was fucked good."

"Yeah?" Tony couldn't quite keep the smugness out of his voice. "You liked that? Looking forward to round two?"

"Sure am. Looking forward to watching Jethro take you this morning, too."

Gibbs had already figured out to let Tim do the logistical planning. "Tell us how."

Tim shifted to raise up on his knees to look down at both of them as he answered Gibbs. "On the sofa. Tony riding your cock so I can suck and lick from your balls to the tip of his cock."

"Damn."

-NCIS-

The comforter was laid out on the sofa and a pillow was on the floor for Tim's knees. Gibbs spread Tony out on the comforter, one leg thrown up onto the back of the sofa, spreading him wide. Tony had enough experience that he didn't need the extensive prep that Tim had the night before, but Gibbs wanted to make sure, so he was slowly working several fingers in Tony as Tim dripped lube on them.

"Yeah, you like that, don't you, Tony? Greedy little ass going to get a real workout. My dick, Tim's mouth. You ready?"

"Fuck, yeah." Tony raised his head enough to watch Tim's nimble fingers roll a condom down Gibbs' shaft before Gibbs sat back in the corner of the sofa. Tony didn't have to ask, he just scrambled to squat over Gibbs. Tim held the thick cock and help guide Tony down onto it. Nobody moved for a moment while Tony got used to the thickness inside him, then Tim bent over and ran his tongue around the crown of Tony's cock before kissing his way down the shaft to the base. From there he sucked and licked Tony's balls before working his way down onto Gibbs and eventually to the back of his sack.

At that angle, Gibbs' cock was hitting Tony's prostate with every stroke and Tim had a perfect view of the muscles in Gibbs' arms flex as he lifted Tony up and then let him slide back down. Tim loosely sucked Tony's sack into his mouth before letting it pop back out. "You like that, Tony, don't you? Being manhandled like this? I can only lift you for so long, but I bet Jethro can go a lot longer."

In truth, they'd been going for a while now and Gibbs wasn't sure how much longer he could lift Tony's dead weight up and down on his dick. As he was debating moving enough that Tony would be able to brace his feet, Tim shifted and raised up. As Gibbs was figuring out his plan, Tim carefully placed one knee between Gibbs' legs and slid his arms under Tony's legs next to Gibbs' hands, taking some of the weight. Between Jethro and Tim, they were lifting Tony up into Tim's mouth and sliding him down onto Jethro's dick.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." It was every fantasy rolled into one as the two men he loved shared his body so completely. He felt Tim's left hand shift and a moment later his fingers were pressing up under Tony's balls, massaging his prostate from the outside as Gibbs' cock rubbed against it from the inside. "Gonna come."

Tim backed off just enough that only the head of Tony's cock was in his mouth, smiling at Tony as he did. With the double assault on Tony's prostate, Tim's tongue only made three trips around the head before Tony let out a shout.

Tony's ass clamped down on Gibbs' dick and his world went white. Riding it out, Gibbs looked down in time to see Tony unloading into McGee's mouth, Tim pulling back just far enough to cover his lips with the last spurts as he looked straight at Gibbs.

"Damn." Despite the orgasm that had hit only seconds ago, Gibbs had a very primal reaction when he saw Tony coat Tim's lips. Grabbing Tim by the back of his neck, Gibbs pulled him up to kiss him hard. Tony seemed especially turned on by the sight.

"Yeah, that's it, Jethro. Can you taste me on him?" Now that Gibbs had dragged Tim up high enough for Gibbs to ravage his mouth, Tony could feel Tim's hard cock against his thigh. "So hot."

Gibbs' hands were exploring, too, and he knew what he wanted next. "Time to have you both in my mouth."

Tony laughed as he slid off Gibbs, landing on his knees when his legs wouldn't support him. "You do realize I'm not twenty anymore, right? Might take me more than a few minutes. How about you share Tim with me right now and then we can have another go at it after lunch."

"Telling me you're getting old, DiNozzo?" Gibbs smirked and pointedly looked down as Tony who was half hard still or already, Gibbs wasn't sure which. "I bet Tim has a story that will take care of that."

While Gibbs had discovered he had a kink for voyeurism, which apparently including seeing one of his boys covered in the semen from the other, he also knew that when he got wound up, Tim thrived on telling dirty stories.

Smiling at the expression on McGee's face, Gibbs took care of the condom before leaning back, legs spread. He waved them close and after a bit of shuffling, Gibbs had each boy leaning against a leg and he was running fingers through their hair. "Tell us a story, Tim."

Tim's smile grew even wider and he rubbed his cheek on Gibbs' knee. "You know what I'm going to do the next time Tony almost gets himself killed doing something stupid?"

"I don't know, but you pick the punishment and I'll help you, okay?"

That was the right thing to say because Tim beamed at the offer, which made Tony a little nervous. "Good, because we're going to tie him up on the bed, face down, all spread out. A bunch of pillows under his chest for support that he can't rub up against anything."

Gibbs could imagine Tony suspended like that, cock bouncing in the air. "Nice."

Tim seemed pleased with the compliment. "I've got a little bullet vibrator with his name on it."

"Yeah?" Gibbs had to admit it was off to a good start.

"Yeah. Took me a long time to find one that had a tether on it, but I did."

"Why a tether?" Tony looked equally intrigued and worried.

Tim reached over and ran a finger across Tony's exposed hole, smiling as it twitched. "So we don't lose it up there."

"But," Tony had to pause and take a deep breath. "If that's in me, how are either of you going to fuck me?"

Tim rubbed his cheek against Gibbs' knee again. "We're not. While that little bullet vibe is doing its magic inside you, I'm going to pull out one of those strawberry flavored dams and work your hole with my tongue until the battery goes dead and Jethro is going to have your mouth."

To prove his point, Tim slid several fingers in and out of Tony's lips before chuckling and reaching down to tap his now hard cock. "Guess you're not so old after all, Tony."

Now it was Gibbs' turn to chuckle as he pulled them up. "Come here, you two." Still sitting on the sofa, he was at the perfect height to take his time. Above him, Tony pulled Tim's face close for a leisurely kiss while Gibbs went to work on their cocks. With one hand wrapped around both shafts, he was able to lick, suck and kiss the heads while his free hand explored. Not surprisingly, Tim's sack was heavier and pulled up tight against his body.

He released their two cocks, letting them bounce against his face, so that he had both hands to explore their bodies as he sucked one, then the other. Tony was still slick and loose, but Tim wasn't, so Gibbs stroked across their holes once before pulling back. "Tony, lube."

Tony knew that what was happening to him was being mirrored on Tim's body, so he knew what the problem was even before Gibbs pulled back. When Gibbs asked, he heavily coated the thick fingers with lube before tossing the bottle on the other end of the couch so that he could return to kissing Tim. Everything he felt, he knew was happening to Tim at the same time. "Is that good, babe?

"Oh, yeah. Gonna come, soon."

"Yeah." Tony felt Gibbs finger curve enough to rake across his prostate just as Tim cried out and he felt a hot splash across his belly. Tony followed a few seconds later and the two men collapsed onto the sofa on each side of Gibbs and the three of them slowly kissed and caught their breath.

"Damn."

"Oh, yeah."

Gibbs just smiled and pulled them closer.


	14. Chapter 14

**a/n - Snowed in here, but I'll see you with a never before seen chapter on Monday. Stay warm everyone.**

* * *

"How about a swim in the creek?"

They'd laid there long enough that they were ready for some exercise. "Sounds good. Any nosy neighbors?" Since they'd walked back from the creek stark naked the day before, Gibbs was pretty sure of the answer but he wanted to double check.

"Not this time of the year." Tim grinned at Tony and disappeared to grab some towels, raising his voice so that they could still hear him. "Neighbor on the north side usually has his mom visit in early spring. Let's just say she's got an interesting version of bird watching."

Gibbs couldn't stop the laugh while Tony returned the grin and rolled his eyes. "She kinda reminds me of Ducky's mom."

That stopped Gibbs cold. The last thing he wanted was another version of Victoria Mallard ogling his ass. "You're sure she's not around?"

"Aww, we'll protect your virtue, Jethro."

"What's this 'we' stuff?" Tim tossed a towel to each of them. "Last time she showed up, you ran screaming like a little girl."

Tony tried to look offended, but it was hard when he was turning bright red. "DiNozzo's do not scream. We yell – very loudly."

"And very high pitched."

As Gibbs was still laughing, Tony conceded the point. "Okay, on the off chance the old bat shows up, Timmy here will protect your virtue and I will show you the quickest escape route. Just try to keep up."

"Okay, good to know."

Still laughing and teasing, they headed out for the creek, Tony pestering Tim about what was in the backpack he had over his shoulder.

"Nope, you'll find out later."

Gibbs just shook his head at the two of them. Away from the office, they were totally different and he hoped to encourage this relaxed comfort with themselves and each other when they got back to DC and no longer had to hide their relationship from him. For himself, Gibbs couldn't remember the last time he'd walked around outside without a weapon, let alone clothes, a freeing occurrence in its own right.

They were there earlier in the afternoon this time, so their spot under the tree was still in sunlight. Instead, they moved to the side where the shade was and Tim pulled out a blanket from the pack. Once Gibbs and Tony had that laid out, a bottle of sun screen hit the fabric.

Before Gibbs could comment on the fact that he never burns, Tim reminded he and Tony of one simple fact. "I promise that if the two of you can't sit next week because you've got a sunburn on places that usually never see the sun..."

"He's got a point."

"Always been the smart one."

Squirting some of the sun bock into both of his hands, Tony got a wicked look on his face. "Who says we need to put it on ourselves?"

It didn't take long for them to figure out what he had in mind and soon Gibbs and Tim both had palms filled and the three started coating each other, taking special care with the parts that rarely saw the sun.

By the time they hit the water, all three were half hard again, but the water was brisk and refreshing and they needed the break, or, as Tony described it – to the amusement of the others – time to reload.

They swam and played in the water for several hours before Tim eased up next to Tony. "I want you to take me again."

"Yeah?" Tony liked the sound of that. "You want to head back to the cabin now, or..."

Rolling to float on his back, Tim tilted his head toward the backpack still sitting on the blanket. "Don't need to, got everything we need with us."

Tony grinned as all sorts of ideas started to form in his mind. "My little Boy Scout, always prepared." Seeing Gibbs start to take interest, he raised his voice slightly. "Got something in that bag of yours to keep you quiet while I fuck you?"

Floating in the afternoon sun, Tim was already fisting his cock to half hardness, it bouncing off his stomach when he let go. "I bet Jethro has something that could keep my mouth busy while you fuck me. "

"Yeah, I bet he does." Tony was the first one out of the water, but he let Tim lead them to the blanket and set things up. Seeing Tim resting on his elbows and knees, ass up in the air, told them exactly where they needed to be.

Gibbs knelt down in front of Tim and tossed the lube and a condom package to DiNozzo. Ass up, legs spread wide, Tim's hole was already exposed and Tony circled the pucker first with his tongue before lapping at it. Tim shuddered and moaned, the vibrations transferring to the dick already in his mouth.

"Oh, fuck." Gibbs ran his hand over Tim's head appreciatively. "Such a sweet mouth, Timmy." He could feel the smile his words brought and continued to stroke his fingers across the back of Tim's neck. That had Tim practically purring, which made Gibbs even harder.

Tony was enjoying the show at the other end, but he decided to move his end along a bit. Pulling back, he picked up the lube and flipped the lid open, allowing it to dribble down in between Tim's butt cheeks and across his hole. Tony's fingers were right below his hole and scooped up the lube to start working his fingers into Tim's ass. He heard another moan and saw the reaction on Gibbs' face once again.

Tim had other plans for Jethro, so he didn't want him to come quite yet. He pulled back enough to let Jethro's cock pop out of his mouth before looking up. "Sit down and lean back."

Gibbs didn't know exactly what Tim had planned, but he'd learned to go with his ideas. It did feel good to get off his knees and soon he was sitting on the blanket, his legs on each side of Tim, and was leaning back on his elbows. Tim sucked just the head of his cock back into his mouth before circling his tongue around the ridge several times.

Just as Gibbs was getting into the rhythm, Tim shifted and started working down his shaft to move onto his balls. One, then the other, into his mouth, then to the back side of his sack. A few seconds later, his tongue took the return path, stopping just short of the tip of Gibbs' cock. Instead, he bounced over to gently run his teeth down Gibbs' thigh. Gibbs saw stars for a minute and when his vision cleared, Tony was sliding two fingers deep into Tim's ass.

"Yeah, that's it, Tony. Get him ready." Gibbs enjoyed the show as Tony prepped Tim's ass, not even really noticing that Tim had slowed down his own actions. He was surprised when Tim tapped the end of his dick and shifted back slightly to reach the lube and box of condoms.

"Now you get Tony ready."

Gibbs might not have the imagination of McGee, but he caught on quick, the low groan from DiNozzo giving him a pretty good clue. "This what you want, Tony?

"Fuck, yeah." In fact, it was probably one of Tony's favorite fantasies. Tim under him, Jethro behind him and Tony caught in the middle. Forward to bury his shaft deep into Tim, back to slide Jethro deep into himself. "Been waiting for this for a long time."

As Gibbs moved behind him, Tony pulled back from Tim enough for him to move. "On your back so we can see your face."

It took a minute for them to get into position, but Tony was still loose from earlier and it didn't take Gibbs long to get him ready. He waited, though, until Tony was deep inside Tim, reaching around Tony to rub Tim's legs as he adjusted. When Tim nodded that he was ready, Tony continued to wait while Gibbs slid his cock into Tony. Gibbs pressed all the way into Tony, grinding against him for a moment before backing out until just the head was still inside Tony's passage.

"Do it." Tony didn't have to be told twice as he quickly found his rhythm. From deep inside Tim then shoving back until he felt Jethro's balls slapping against the back of his own balls.

Gibbs smiled and kissed the side of Tony's neck. "Look at him, Tony."

Tony loved the idea of finally being able to show Tim off to the subject of so many fantasies. "I know. He's so beautiful, isn't he? I love to watch his face when he comes."

"I'd come a lot sooner if you'd let me move my hands."

Gibbs looked down and saw that Tony's fingers were interlaced with Tim's and pressed against the blanket. He smiled and tightened his grip on Tim's legs, going from simple support to bordering on control. "Not yet, Tim. You're getting the full deal."

"That's right. You're going to come, but it's not going to be quick." Tony shifted his angle a bit so that his cock was rubbing against Tim's prostate a little harder. He was rewarded with a howl and squeezed Tim's hands. "That's it babe, gonna come on my cock."

When Tony had shifted it increased the pressure against Tim's prostate, but it also changed their angle enough that Tony's belly was no longer rubbing against Tim's cock and Gibbs was enjoying the view as it bounced, drooling pre-come down onto Tim's stomach. "So beautiful, you going to make him beg, Tony?"

They watched Tim's eyes widen at that possibility and Tony grinned as he slowed down. "Oh, yeah, we can do that. Keep him on edge and pass him back and forth for hours."

Looking up at the two smiling faces, Tim couldn't decide if they were kidding or not, nor could he decide which option he wanted more. Either way, it didn't take long before Jethro's wish was fulfilled and he was begging to come.

When the words ceased making sense, Tony knew he was close and hitting the right spot. This wasn't Tim's first orgasm from prostate play this weekend, but it was the first without anything else. No mouth or fingers anywhere near his cock and Tony wanted it that way.

"That's it, Tim. Feel my cock in your ass. Gonna come on just that, babe." Tony adjusted him slightly, to better hit his pleasure spot and Gibbs helped by supporting Tim's legs, but they didn't change the pace.

Tim was afraid that he was going to go mad soon. He felt the pleasure start deep inside of him, spreading, as his world went white. He was vaguely aware of shouts above him, but he was too far gone to make sense of them.

When his own orgasm had hit, it was all Tony could do not to fall on Tim too heavily. From the frenzied movement and the shout, he knew Gibbs had been right behind them. After Gibbs slowly pulled out of him, Tony rolled to the side and just hummed with pleasure as Gibbs checked both he and McGee carefully. Apparently Gibbs was satisfied that there was no damage because a minute later he landed on the other side of McGee.

Tony opened one eye. "How much longer are we going to still be in the shade?"

Not that he was tired or anything, but it took Gibbs a minute to roll onto his back and look up at the sun and the shadows. "An hour, maybe a little more."

"Good." Tony laid his head on Tim's shoulder and took Gibbs' hand, keeping him close to them. "Cause it'll take me that long before I can move again."

Gibbs mirrored his position, his head on Tim's other shoulder, the back of his knuckles wet from the puddle on Tim's stomach as he squeezed Tony's hand. An hour of not moving sounded pretty damn good, but he had a reputation to uphold. "Kids today, no stamina."

Tim didn't move, didn't open his eyes, so when he spoke, it was a surprise. "I can feel your legs shaking, Jethro. Can't fool us."

"Yeah, well." Gibbs grinned at them both before closing his eyes. "You two make me feel like a kid again."

-NCIS-

The sun on his feet woke Gibbs up and the three of them stumbled to the creek to rinse off. It was late enough that when Tony's stomach growled, Gibbs and Tim laughed and then started gathering their things. The walk back was quiet, Gibbs' arms around the other two men.

"We gonna grill the steaks tonight or have them for our last breakfast here?" Gibbs couldn't believe that it was already coming up on Saturday night. Tomorrow, they'd be heading back home and in another day they'd be back at work.

Tony and Tim exchanged a look before Tim spoke. "Steaks tonight. Tomorrow we're taking you to our favorite breakfast spot."

"Out here?"

"Yep, if you followed my instructions as to how to get here, you drove right past it." Tony kept the serious look for a few seconds longer before bursting into laughter. "Don't worry, it's pretty easy to miss, but you're in for a real treat. We always stop there coming and going."

"Sounds good."

Arriving back at the cabin, Tim stopped them before they went up onto the porch. "Jethro, why don't you grab that case of beer, so we can stick it in the fridge and get it cold."

Gibbs turned to look at him, his eyebrow climbing in surprise. "You sure?"

Next to them, Tony also looked surprised at first, then smiled. They'd made a pact to not let alcohol become a crutch, but a true celebration was an entirely different matter. "Yeah, we're sure. Tonight we celebrate new beginnings."

For a split second Gibbs remembered the shadowed, haunted expressions he'd seen on Tony and Tim just a few days ago. Now looking at their smiling, confident expressions, he understood. "That sounds good. That sounds real good."


	15. Chapter 15

**a/n - Guys, PLEASE don't post a review on one of my gen stories asking for an update on a slash story. There's a reason why I have two profiles here and I'm asking everyone to respect that. Thank you. Now, brand new chapter as I'm all caught up with myself. Enjoy.**

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By unspoken agreement, Gibbs took on the steaks while Tim handled the rest of the meal. He expected the large potatoes to be seasoned, wrapped in foil and tossed into the coals while the grill reached the right temperature for the meat. Instead, Tim smiled and vanished into the kitchen with the potatoes, leaving Gibbs and Tony watching the grill.

"What's he going to do with them?"

Tony grinned; he wasn't a hundred percent sure, but he had a pretty good idea. A few minutes later he could smell bacon frying and he had his answer. "Don't worry, they're going to be good."

"Well, yeah, they're going to be good – Tim's fixing them but that doesn't answer my question." Moving away from the smoke off the grill, Gibbs caught a whiff of what was already happening in the kitchen. "Do I smell bacon?"

"Yep."

Giving up on getting a straight answer from DiNozzo, and needing to get the steaks out of the fridge to warm up, Gibbs retreated to the kitchen. He didn't see the potatoes, but Tim was standing next to the stove, cooking a pan full of chopped bacon. When Tim stepped away for a moment, Gibbs snuck a peek in the oven and saw the potatoes in there, each wrapped in foil, open at the top.

"You want to throw those in the coals?"

"Nah, if the butter leaks, it'll cause a flare-up. Besides, that grill is a little small to do everything and I'd rather send the bread out."

Gibbs watched as Tim slathered a loaf of thickly sliced bread with a mixture of butter, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese and something else. Leaning closer, he took a sniff. "Is that Gorgonzola cheese?"

"It sure is." Slices coated, Tim reassembled the loaf and tightly wrapped it in two layers of foil before handing it to Gibbs. "Here, we want this hot enough, long enough, to be crunchy on the edges..."

"And melty in the middle?"

"You got it." Smiling, Tim turned back to the stove and stirred the bacon.

Gibbs held the wrapped bread up to his face and took a deep breath. Even through the two layers of foil he could smell the garlic and the cheese. "The one thing I haven't figured out..." He waited until Tim looked up at him. "Why doesn't Tony weigh about three hundred pounds?" Laughing, he left the kitchen, pausing at the door and turning back when Tim spoke.

"I make sure he burns it all off, Jethro." With a sultry smile, Tim licked the remnants of the butter off his thumb, then laughed as he checked the oven and laughed again when Gibbs missed the door on his way out.

-NCIS-

"Open door, then walk through. Always works better that way." Tony smirked as Gibbs finally arrived on the porch, then walked down the steps to join him by the grill. Gibbs just snickered and shook his head as Tony explained. "Takes a few days for him to really relax, no matter what. Once he does... oh, man, is it good."

"That's what I want tonight. I want to watch him with you."

"Yeah? Want to watch him take me?"

"Oh, yeah."

-NCIS-

Gibbs had always considered himself a meat and potato man – as long as you considered the potato as a filler when there wasn't enough meat. Tonight he was reevaluating the philosophy. The potatoes Tim had fixed were something that had him seriously ignoring his own steak for the moment.

Thin slices, cut most of the way through, butter and slivers of garlic wedged in between the slices before they were baked in the oven. The foil had kept the butter and seasonings in the potato while the open top had allowed them to brown. Bacon and cheese had been added over the top near the end of the baking time and then a final layer of sour cream and green onions finished them off.

The bread had been a close second as far as Gibbs was concerned and he didn't even complain about the salad McGee threw together. Finally finished, Gibbs pushed his plate back and smiled. "That really hit the spot, Tim, thank you. I'm looking forward to having you cook for Tony and me more, either here or back in DC. You guys come out here much in the Winter?"

"Not as much as we'd like to. The road's pretty rough for either of our cars in Winter. Tony did like driving that Jeep this weekend, though."

"Yeah, the extra ground clearance was nice." Tony grinned as he thought about it. "Definitely worth renting this weekend, might even be worth buying. That way we could come out here more in the Winter. We talked about it a little bit before you got here – it could be my middle age crisis. Instead of a sports car, I get a SUV. Be fun to see the reactions."

Gibbs could picture the gossip over that one. "Yeah, it would be. There's always my truck. You guys can borrow it whenever you want." He hesitated, then plunged in with both feet. "Or, the three of us could just drive out here together."

"That sounds much better."

"Might be a little cramped."

This time it was Tim that gave him a little nudge. "You say that like it's a bad thing, Jethro."

Point taken, Gibbs laughed softly and shook his head. "Okay, until you guys buy something better, we'll use my truck to get out here if the roads are bad. What's it usually like in the Winters?"

Tim looked out the window. "Beautiful, but cold. The wind really whips down the valley. Having electric heat to supplement the fireplace will be nice though. The walls are in good shape, but we loose a lot of heat through the roof. That's our next big project, so probably in the Spring. Gonna rip off the old shake roof and put in some serious insulated panels, then a metal roof."

Gibbs had seen all the work they had to do on the aging shake roof. "That will cut down on your maintenance. Gonna add solar while you're at it?"

Tim had already worked through the numbers. "Eventually we might add solar panels, but with the amount of shade, it really wouldn't be cost effective unless we cut down those two big trees on the south side. I've actually been looking into a wind turbine system. They've been coming out with more compact designs that are still pretty efficient. That'll have to wait another year or so, though."

Nothing was said, but the raised eyebrow asked anyway and Tony shrugged. "My building is going condo sometime in the next couple of years so I have to either move or buy into it. If I have to sink a lot of money into someplace, we'd rather it be something that we can share, like we talked about earlier."

"Chances are pretty slim about finding someplace, but on the off chance we do, I don't want to have all my cash tied up here on something that will takes years to pay for itself." Tim snagged another piece of bread and tore it in half. "Like I said, chances are that we won't find anything, but..."

"But you keep looking and hoping." Gibbs finished his thought with a nod. "In the meantime, I'll make sure we can get at least one long weekend when we're not on call and the snow isn't too deep."

Tony thought about the three of them and a roaring fire in the fireplace. "We need a bearskin rug." He waggled his eyebrows and both Tim and Gibbs knew exactly where he was going with that.

"A faux one." When Tony and Gibbs both turned to look at him, he elaborated. "Washable."

"Good point."

"Smart man." The idea of Tony and Tim naked and sweaty on the rug, the firelight casting a golden glow on them had Gibbs swallowing down the last of his beer, not interested in a second bottle. The other two saw the heated expression on his face and followed suit, getting the table cleared off in record time.

-NCIS-

Quick showers were had, individually as to avoid temptation, and when Gibbs emerged from the bathroom, Tim had a game plan.

"Tony tells me you want to watch."

Gibbs nodded, his throat suddenly dry. Tony was laying spread out on the bed and Tim was standing next to it, both of them naked. Tim reached out and tugged away the towel that was wrapped around Gibbs' midsection.

"Watching means you can't touch until you have permission."

Gibbs nodded again, almost embarrassed at how quickly he was becoming erect.

"That means you can't touch yourself either." Tim smirked a bit at the expression on Jethro's face as that clarification, then pointed to the corner of the bed. "Sit there, however is most comfortable, as long as your legs are spread and your cock isn't touching or being touched by anything."

It was reminiscent of their first time, down by the creek, but this time it was Tim calling all the shots. Over the weekend he'd seen Tim gaining in strength and confidence and was looking forward to seeing what the younger man would do.

As Gibbs watched, Tim climbed up onto the bed, between Tony's outspread legs. Tony's cock was already erect and Tim bent down to gently kiss the tip, the tenderness almost undoing Gibbs. He'd enjoyed watching Tim suck on Tony earlier, but this time, Tim lifted Tony's legs and rolled him up onto his shoulders.

"Oh, yeah." Tony seemed pleased with whatever Tim had planned and braced himself ass straight up, knees up by his shoulders, while Tim leaned over and reached into the nightstand. He slipped on a pair of gloves before getting out a foil square. Gibbs thought he had pulled out a condom, but when the package was opened, it was a flat square of latex and Gibbs realized it was one of the dental dams that Tim had threatened Tony with earlier.

"Strawberry flavored?" Gibbs knew the theory behind them, but had never used one, or had one used on him, before so he watched intently as Tim laid it out on the back of Tony's thigh where it was out of the way but easily accessible.

Tim then dripped some lube on Tony's hole and slid one gloved finger inside him. "Yeah, never liked the taste of latex and strawberry is one of the few flavors that don't taste nasty and artificial." He worked one finger for a few minutes before adding a second one. When Tony was humming in pleasure, Tim pulled his fingers out and carefully removed the gloves before he laid the dam in place over Tony well-lubed ass. The ease in which Tim handled the transition between finger play and mouth play showed that this wasn't the first time they'd done this.

Sitting on his heels, knees spread, Gibbs leaned close and carefully watched as Tim used the tip of his tongue to circle Tony's hole. Even through the opaque shield he could see Tony's ass twitching and flexing. "That feel good, Tony?"

Tony was groaning and keening and struggled to concentrate enough to answer the question. "So good, so good."

It hadn't been that long and Tony was already shaking as his cock dribbled pre-come down onto his stomach. Tim shifted slightly and Tony shuddered and let out a long drawn out curse. Now Tim was alternating between circling around his hole with his tongue stiff and pointed and lapping over his hole with his tongue wide and flat and Gibbs found that it took all of his concentration not to touch Tim or Tony or himself. "Oh, fuck."

Tim didn't lift off of Tony, but he smiled as he continued to work Tony.

Tony licked his lips and rolled his head to the side enough to look directly at Gibbs with a heated expression. "You ever been rimmed, Jethro?"

A week ago he would have scoffed at the very idea. "Not yet."

With Tony slightly distracted by Gibbs, Tim changed his attack again. This time he stiffened his tongue and pushed at the very center of Tony asshole, previously loosened by his fingers. Tony howled and Tim proceeded to tongue fuck him until he was babbling and begging to be fucked.

Eventually, Tim pulled back, lightly rubbing a fingertip over Tony's latex covered hole. "You sure, Tony? You ready for my cock instead of my tongue?"

"Why can't I have both?"

Gibbs laughed at the wailing question. "If there's a way to do it, Tim will figure it out."

By now Tim had rolled on a condom and raised up, dropping the dam on top of the discarded gloves. Tony loved and hated this position, still up on his shoulders while they fucked. Tim could keep him on the edge forever and Tony had to use his arms to balance so he couldn't touch his own cock to speed things along.

In one smooth motion Tim pushed into Tony until his balls were up against Tony's butt crack. Buried, he stayed there to give Tony a minute to adjust and looked over at Gibbs. The older man was panting through clenched teeth, his knuckles white where they were clutching the blanket. Smiling, he decided to wind them both up a little bit more as he slowly started to rock just a tiny bit.

"What do you think, Tony? Would Jethro enjoy that? Just imagine our next time out here, all three of us. You laying on your back, legs wrapped around Jethro's waist and his dick buried in your ass while I show him exactly what it's like to get rimmed." Tim looked over at Gibbs again with a smile. "Him not moving at all, just the throbbing of his cock while I work him. Or, maybe..." Tim started moving deeper but still very slowly in and out of Tony, his words slow and he struggled to focus on teasing his bedmates instead of the heat of Tony's body surrounding his own cock.

A soft growl from Gibbs got him back on track. "Or maybe, we'll start out with Jethro on his back first, with me over him." For a third time, Tim turned his head toward Gibbs. "Yeah, my dick in your mouth while I rim you and Tony fucks me. How does that sound? Imagine watching Tony sliding in and out of my ass while I circle my tongue around your ass?"

"Damn." Gibbs had been determined not to come just from watching like a randy teen again, but he was afraid he was going to lose the battle. Tim had been increasing his pace and now said the magic words.

"Come closer."

Gibbs did just that, knee walking over next to them, his cock bouncing against his stomach with each step and he hissed.

Tim was going full force and Tony was begging to come, trying to reach for himself to finish the job but Tim kept him off-balance just enough that he couldn't. "No, Tony, you can't come until Jethro comes all over your cock first."

Permission given, Gibbs started fisting himself. It didn't take long before his balls tightened up against his body. He gave a shout as he followed Tim's instructions, coating Tony's balls and then his dick. It was just seconds later that Tony climaxed as he shuddered and cursed. When Tony's ass clamped down on him, Tim finally gave in to the sensations, his hips moving fast and furiously until he, too, reached his climax.

Gibbs' legs were shaking, so he could only imagine how Tony and especially Tim were feeling at that moment. When Tim started to pull out of Tony Gibbs reached up to balance him and then, when he was free, pulled him down into the space between he and Tony. With little grace Tony let his legs fall to the mattress and smiled.

"Damn, that was good."

"Yeah, sure looked it." Wanting to take care of them, Gibbs slipped out of the bed and returned a minute later with a couple of warm, wet washcloths. With more tenderness than he'd shown anyone since Shannon he removed Tim's condom and washed both he and Tony before climbing back into the bed. Supporting himself on one arm, Gibbs looked down at the two of them. He brushed the hair back off of Tim's face before squeezing Tim and Tony's joined hands. "How'd I get so lucky?"

Tony looked over at Tim before answering for both of them. "We were thinking we're the lucky ones."


	16. Chapter 16

**a/n - One more chapter after this. More stories in this universe, but no planned timetable yet. Even though I'm wrapping up several stories, I've got to write my own goodbye to Jackson Gibbs soon. He was a wonderful character played by a great actor who will be missed greatly. **

**On a happier note, did everyone have a good Valentine's Day? Army son took his wife to Switzerland for the weekend. I believe he wins the event :)**

* * *

Finally on their last morning there, Gibbs was the first one awake. Smiling to himself, he stealthily shifted around and raised up on one arm to watch the other two men sleep in the predawn light. Tim was in the middle, facing him, while Tony was spooned up against Tim. Both men looked so peaceful and content it almost took his breath away.

Tony spoke without ever opening his eyes, his voice just above a whisper as to not wake Tim. "I can hear you thinking, Jethro. It's still early, go back to sleep."

"Just enjoying the view."

Tony did open his eyes at that and gave Gibbs a lazy smile. His top arm was draped over Tim, his fingers tangled with one of Tim's hands. As they watched, Tim's other hand slid over to take Gibbs' closest hand, effectively pulling him back down onto the bed. Once Gibbs was back laying on his side facing them, Tim pulled his hand closer, tucking it under his cheek.

Gibbs watched him closely, but there was not even a change in his breathing pattern as he moved and then settled back in, his cheek warm against the palm of Gibbs' hand. "He wasn't awake?"

"Nope." Tony smiled as he enjoyed Tim's warm body against his. "It always takes a few nights before he relaxes enough to sleep this soundly, but usually by then it's time to start heading back to DC."

The answer had actually raised more questions, but Gibbs wasn't going to break the quiet mood by pushing. Instead, he reached over to lay his other hand on Tony's arm so that he was touching both of his boys and drifted back off to sleep.

-NCIS-

The next time Gibbs woke up it was definitely light out and he wasn't the only one waking up. He watched as Tony playfully poked at Tim.

"I'm awake." Tim turned his head enough to kiss the palm under his cheek before turning back to kiss Tony. "This was a good weekend, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was, babe." Tony whispered while Gibbs just nodded, becoming overwhelmed by the gift he'd been given. Tim gave Tony a long look, the two of them obviously having a silent conversation, before turning back to Gibbs.

"There's one thing we haven't done yet that I want."

It took Gibbs just a second to realize what Tim was asking for and was instantly worried. "Are you sure? I don't want to risk hurting you or even reminding you..."

Tim pressed his fingertips against Jethro's lips, stilling them. "I'm sure."

Carefully studying Tim's face, he saw no fear and Tony was nodding his own approval, but Gibbs still needed to put his own restrictions in place to be safe. "Okay, but I want you to ride me so you're the one in control, all right?"

"Okay."

They each took a quick turn in the bathroom before meeting up again on the bed. They settled with Tim in the middle as both Tony and Jethro began kissing and touching him. Like they had done the first time Tony had taken Tim, Tony and Jethro took turns preparing him, this time not letting him climax.

By the time they'd worked up to three of Jethro's fingers in Tim's ass the younger man was practically growling at them. Tony bent down and playfully nipped at his ear. "I think Timmy's ready for you."

"Damn straight I am."

"Oh, there's nothing straight about us anymore, hasn't been for a while now." Tony waggled his eyebrows at Tim before rolling a condom onto Jethro.

Tim laughed as he climbed onto Jethro. "I guess you're right about that." Then he turned serious as he raised up and Tony helped guide him onto Jethro's dick. Tim stilled, getting used to it, and Tony stayed right in back of him.

It was unspoken between Tony and Gibbs that at the slightest suggestion of fear or panic from Tim, Tony would lift him back up, ending the scene.

Tim, however, seemed all right with what they were doing. Gibbs raised his hands up, allowing Tim to lace their fingers together for support while Tony continued to kneel behind Tim, kissing him and running his fingers up and down Tim's body.

It would have been easy, so very easy to slam up into the warm body that surrounded his manhood, but Gibbs let Tim set the pace, even if it was maddeningly slow. He took it all in, the velvety heat around his dick, the fingers laced with his. Above him, Tim never broke eye contact and neither did Tony, his chin resting on Tim's shoulder as his fingers pinched and rolled Tim's nipples, giving Gibbs a show. He couldn't see for sure, but Gibbs was pretty sure Tony's cock was sliding back and forth against Tim's ass as he felt a few nudges when they rocked together.

Tony knew that despite everything they'd done together that weekend, this was the final test. No matter how thrilled he was, if Tim struggled in any way, he'd end it and they'd be packing for Greece. He stroked his fingers up and down Tim's body, up to lightly tug at his nipples and then down to roll Tim's balls in his hand while his dick left a moist trail in the cleavage of Tim's ass.

"So good, so good." Tim finally let his head drop back onto Tony's shoulder, baring his throat. Tony was still looking directly at Gibbs as he ran his teeth down the side of Tim's neck before sucking a mark on the base of his throat.

Gibbs hissed as he watched them. Tim tightened his grip on one of Gibbs' hands while letting go of the other. With his free hand Tim reached up to wrap his arm around Tony's neck pulling him even tighter before looking back down at Gibbs with a sultry smile.

Watching his two younger lovers undulating against each other as they smiled at him was almost Gibbs' undoing. "My boys."

Tim started to pick up speed, his eyes closing as his focus shifted inward. Gibbs knew it wouldn't last much longer and he let himself feel every sensation. He was close, very close, and when Tim cried out and his body clamped down on Jethro's, he followed right behind.

Sagging in the aftermath, Tim started to shake. Tony eased him down, Jethro rolling to his side as they tucked him between them. Tim was hanging onto both of them tightly as Tony whispered reassurances and Gibbs watched and worried.

"That's it, babe. We've got you."

When Tim gave a nod, Gibbs leaned forward a few inches to rest his forehead against Tim's. "That's the way it's going to be from now on. No hurting each other. Just love, support and pleasure."

"I know."

Gibbs understood because in a way he was feeling the same way. He touched Tim's head, then his chest. "You knew up here, but now you know down here."

Tim nodded, relief and guilt warring in his mind. Before he could admit it or say the "s" word, Gibbs pressed a finger against Tim's lips.

"You were the one that was hurt, Tim. No matter how much we talked about what happened, this was a big step. Thank you for trusting me." Gibbs leaned back enough that he could look at both of them. "Thank you both for loving me."

-NCIS-

They'd spent another hour in bed, touching and caressing each other before hunger finally drove them to get up. They hadn't really discussed it, but the unspoken agreement was that they'd all go into town for breakfast and from there, Gibbs would head home and allow Tony and Tim some time alone to process the weekend before they faced work and life the following morning in DC.

Just before noon, Gibbs pulled his truck in next to the rented Jeep in a small parking lot and followed the two men into what apparently was a diner, even though the outside would have normally left Gibbs in doubt. However, since Tony and Tim seemed to be looking forward to a late breakfast, he wasn't too worried.

He was introduced to a tiny, white-haired dynamo named Betty, who reminded Gibbs of his own grandmother and her husband, Gary, that ran the kitchen just like he was still in charge of the mess hall at Camp Lejeune. The coffee was just like Gibbs had learned to like it in the Corps – hot, strong and black. He'd raised an eyebrow when Tony had helped himself to a pot and a stack of cups, but Betty didn't bat an eye.

Just like himself at his own diner back home, Tim and Tony didn't need a menu to know what they wanted. Gibbs almost ordered his usual fried eggs with bacon and hash browns when another item caught his eye. It was the lumberjack special featuring biscuits and gravy. Betty grinned when he ordered it. "You want the lumberjack size or the smaller city boys size?"

Gibbs was actually hungry that morning, had rediscovered his appetite for many things over the last few days. "I'll take the lumberjack size."

"Hungry boy this morning?"

Gibbs looked over at Tony and Tim, who were sitting across from him with shocked expressions on their faces. "Yeah, I worked up an appetite this weekend. Got used to eating good food, too."

Both the boys grinned at that and Tim looked like he was going to say something, but Tony nudged him into silence.

They kept to publicly safe topics such as football while they waited for the food. Gibbs knew that Tony loved the game, but he was surprised at how knowledgeable Tim was on the subject. Just as a lively discussion on the merits of the Eagles vs the Washington Redskins was starting, Betty arrived back with two huge plates which she set in front of Tim and Tony before smiling at Gibbs.

"I'll be back with yours in a minute, hon."

Gibbs took in the food, which looked really good. "Lumberjack size?"

Tim was already sprinkling pepper on his potatoes. "Nope, Tony and I always get the city boy version."

"That's the city boy size?" Before Gibbs could wrap his mind around that, Betty arrived back with a platter that needed both of her hands to carry. Gibbs' eyes went wide and Tony reached over to move his coffee and silverware out of the way.

Three large biscuits, golden brown and buttery, were split and covered with country gravy filled with sausage. The gravy, with a little less sausage, continued on to cover a large chicken fried steak. As if that wasn't enough meat, there were several thick slices of bacon next to the pile of scrambled eggs and two fat links of sausage wedged in by the potatoes.

"Got enough to eat there, Jethro?" Tony smirked as he and Tim started their usual cutting and swapping. Gibbs got into the act, too, and soon all of them had at least a bite or two of everything on the table.

"We're hitting the gym on Monday."

Breaded and fried meat usually wasn't on Tim's personal menu, but he enjoyed the gravy coated chunk of chicken fried steak he'd acquired. "They do have doggie bags, and if Tony has to roll you out to your truck, I'm taking pictures."

A bold joke like that would have never come from McGee a week ago and Gibbs laughed as he nodded, appreciating that fact as much as the joke itself. "I'll keep that in mind." Duly warned, Gibbs ate his fill according to what would reheat the best and what needed to be eaten now. Being refrigerated and then nuked would leave the eggs rubbery and the breaded steak soggy so those were eaten first, while most of the potatoes, bacon, sausages and the last two biscuits and gravy would make a fine meal at home.

The boys managed to finish theirs and Betty kept a straight face as she brought a to-go box for Gibbs and filled his thermos with the rest of the coffee. After they settled up and left a nice tip, the three of them went back outside. Gibbs almost hated to leave, but he knew they had some serious decisions to make and he felt they had the right to make them without pressure from him.

Setting the food inside the cab, he pulled both men into a joint hug. "No matter what you two decide or whatever happens, I'll cherish these last few days for the rest of my life. I'll see you both on Monday." Pulling back, he ran his hands down both their cheeks before turning away.

-NCIS-

Gibbs kept one eye on the rear view mirror until he couldn't see them anymore, then drove for another ten miles for good measure before he pulled over. Anybody driving by would see him pouring a cup of coffee from his thermos, but he was in deep thought. He'd arrived planning on some frank discussion and possibly some good sex. Now the idea of stepping back into his previously wanted lonely life made him ache. In his head he knew nothing was causing a problem, but he wouldn't fully relax until he saw them sitting at their desks Monday with not a transfer paper in sight.

-NCIS-

Tony kept Tim tucked close to him as they watched the old, familiar pick up truck disappear down the road. Once Gibbs was out of sight, Tony gave Tim a squeeze and a kiss on the forehead. "You ready?"

Tim huffed and shook his head. "You know, until Jethro said anything, I'd totally forgotten Greece was still on the table."

"Yeah, let's go talk about it. We've got some decisions to make."


	17. Chapter 17

The first thing Tim did when they got back to the cabin was to start washing the clothes, towels and bedding. There were enough sheets and towels that one load wouldn't be quite enough, so he decided to do their clothes as well to make two complete loads. Tony stood in back of him, his arms around Tim's waist and watched the little washing machine fill with water. Tim wasn't sure what the fascination was. "It's just our laundry."

"Yeah, _**our**_ laundry. This is the first time my boxers and your boxers have done the liquid limbo together."

"Oh." He realized that Tony was right. Separate apartments had always meant separate laundry. Even when they hung out together doing somebody's laundry, it was at either Tony's at his building or Tim's at his. Smiling, Tim leaned back more against Tony and squeezed his arms. "You're right. Do we need to keep supervising them, or can we leave them alone to figure it out?"

Tony turned Tim around to face him. "Well, my boxers are designer, so they're smart and sexy."

The fact that Tim refused to spend the money on expensive underwear was a source of constant teasing over the years. "Yeah? What about mine?"

"Yours..." Tony kissed Tim's left eyelid. "Absorb all that extra smartness and sexiness from you." Another kiss, this time to the right. "And that means after we wash them, we have to start all over again."

"Is that right?" Tim tilted his face up a bit and the next kiss was on his lips.

"Yeah, it's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it." The last kiss deepened as Tony turned and walked Tim backwards to the bedroom.

-NCIS-

Spooned up behind Tim, Tony stroked slowly as he nibbled on Tim's neck. "You like that?"

"Oh, yeah." For as much fun as they'd have over the weekend, being alone with Tony, feeling his cock sliding slowly in and out of his ass was amazing. Their fingers were laced together and Tim brought them up to tenderly kiss each of Tony's knuckles. "Everything was amazing, but this is the best part."

Before Tim could lay their hands back down, Tony lifted them up the rest of the way to his mouth so that he could return the favor. After he had kissed each knuckle, he tucked their hands up against Tim's chest so that he could feel Tim's heartbeat. "Gonna grow old together, Timmy. When we retire, we're gonna move out here full time, okay?"

"Sounds good, sounds really good, but are we going to like the snow in the winter?

Tony thought about it for a moment. "We'll be snowbirds. We'll spend the winter someplace where there's sun and a beach. Impress all the young studs cause we'll still have it."

Grinning, Tim pressed back against Tony. "Even if it's droopy?"

"DiNozzo's never droop." With a laugh, Tony rolled Tim under him and they got serious about their lovemaking.

-NCIS-

Arriving back home, Gibbs tossed his bag on the sofa and took his leftovers into the kitchen. Once they were tucked away in the refrigerator for later, he automatically made a pot of coffee. He watched the water slowly make its way through the machine as he enjoyed the quiet of his own home. What was it that Tony had said? Something about how 24-7 wouldn't work because he needed his basement time and Tim was allergic to sawdust.

After sitting down with his cup, Gibbs let his mind wander. He'd always been a loner by nature. Happier tinkering with his car in the garage than hanging out with the kids after the football game back in Stillwater. Shannon had been much like him, needing times of silence and quiet contemplation as she read or wrote poetry. Some of their best times together had been sitting next to each other, not saying a word.

That was probably one of the reasons none of his other marriages had succeeded. Never mind the fact that they weren't Shannon, it had been the clinginess that had driven him up the wall, made him feel like he was suffocating. Casual dating and sex had solved that problem, but it had lacked the emotional connection and left him feeling cold.

Leave it up to DiNozzo to find a solution to a problem Gibbs hadn't realized he had. He loved both the boys, each in their own way, but together it was even more than he could have imagined. The long weekend had been perfect and now, just like Tony had said, he was ready for an evening in his basement alone before starting another week of work.

He was almost too content to work on his boat, though. He wanted a new project, something that moved him forward, instead of letting him dwell in the past. Maybe something he and the boys could share. Smiling, he remembered the old folding chairs they had for the deck at the cabin. Yeah, some nice deck furniture was exactly the project he wanted.

Checking his watch, Gibbs stood and swallowed down the last of his coffee. The lumber yard closed early on Sundays, so if he wanted to pick up some wood, he'd better get moving. With a light step, he bounced down the porch stairs and climbed back into his truck.

-NCIS-

"Seems funny not to have to bring home every scrap of food this time." Leaving the beer and the condiments in the refrigerator and throwing the left over meat in the freezer had made closing down the cabin a quick activity.

Tim smiled as he rolled his head to the side to look at Tony. "Okay, getting electricity out there was one of your better ideas."

"All of my ideas are good ones, Probie-won.

"Uh-huh." Tim was grinning and Tony knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Okay, well, maybe not every one."

They were at a red light, so Tim leaned close enough to whisper in Tony's ear. "All the important ones are." That made Tony smile all the way home.

-NCIS-

"You ready?"

Tim finished his coffee and set his cup in the sink before turning around. "Now I am."

"Alright." Tony picked up his coat and his bags, but Tim caught his arm before he could go anywhere. "What's up?"

Pulling him even closer, Tim smiled. "I really like having mornings together like this."

Tony returned the smile before pulling him close for one more kiss. "Yeah? Me, too. And as tempting as it is to stay here as long as we can, I think I'd much rather go in early and give Vance our answer, okay?"

They'd talked for hours yesterday, at the cabin, during the drive home, after returning the rental and then later on in bed. After approaching it from every angle, they were both fully satisfied with the choice they'd made. "Agreed."

After one more lingering kiss they walked out the door, keeping the proper distance between them as would be expected by society of two straight men. It was only once Tony was in his car that he looked over at Tim and allowed himself to smile.

-NCIS-

"Director Vance? Agent DiNozzo is here to see you."

"Thank you, Pamela. Send him in." Vance had not only known that DiNozzo and McGee were already in the building, an hour before the start of their shift, but he'd watched their arrival on the monitor, carefully observing their body language as they'd dropped their bags at their desks. McGee had immediately booted up his computer and started working, while DiNozzo hovered over him for a minute before taking the stairs two at a time.

The door swung open and Tony walked to the center of the office to stand at parade rest in front of Vance's desk. Vance took a moment to look at him, watching the expression on his face and the look in his eyes, details that hadn't been clear on the bullpen video. Whatever the decision was, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was very comfortable with it and Vance let him take the lead in discussing it.

Tony didn't waste any time. "Director Vance."

"Agent DiNozzo, would I be correct in assuming that you have an answer for me?"

"Yes, Sir. Agent McGee and I spent the weekend reviewing our situation here, our options here and overseas and also our long term goals to determine what we both felt would be the right decision for each of us and I'm going to turn down the transfer to Greece. Tim and I would both like to remain in DC on a long term basis."

"I see." Vance had noticed the slip from 'Agent McGee' to 'Tim', but decided not to call him on it. At least not now. "And you feel that you'll be able to mesh with Agent Gibbs from this point on and follow his lead?"

"Yes, Sir, I do."

"Very good, Tony, and I appreciate you taking the time to work this through." After a nod, Vance picked up a file from his desk and Tony took that as a clue to his dismissal. Once he was alone, Vance set the file back down. Whatever the problem had been, it seems to have been resolved, but he would watch for any further issues just to be safe.

-NCIS-

Gibbs was surprised to find McGee already hard at work, but he was even more surprised to see Tony's backpack on his desk. Tim smiled at him and then tilted his head toward the stairs. "Tony is upstairs giving Vance our final decision."

"Which is?" Even though his head and his gut both knew the answer, part of him needed to hear it directly.

The answer came from above as Tony loped down the stairs. "That we have a lot left to learn from you, Boss, and maybe a few things to teach." The three men shared a smile until the moment was broken as Ziva arrived, laughing.

"What would you and McGee be teaching Gibbs, Tony?"

Tony wasn't fazed as he turned in her direction, his grin growing wider. "You might just be surprised, Ziva. You might be surprised."

Before she could come up with a comeback, Gibbs' phone rang. He listened to the dispatcher for a moment before standing. "Gear up, we've got a dead Petty Officer in Rock Creek Park."

"Some things never change, Boss." Tony waggled his eyebrows at them as he stood and grabbed his bag.

Tim also stood while Ziva scrambled to pick up what she'd just set down. "And some things change for the better. You coming, Ziva?"

Thoroughly confused, she scrambled to catch them at the elevator, giving Gibbs a moment to share a fond look with his two part time lovers. "As they say, the best is yet to come."

~Fin~

This has been a labor of love for way too long, but I've enjoyed the journey as I hope you have. Yes, it's been left open to a sequel or two. We'll see where the series goes. Too many ideas, too little time.


End file.
